UK Climate Policy And Politics A National Perspective Andrew Pendleton

1. UK Climate Policy And Politics A National Perspective Andrew Pendleton Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr) Oslo, 25 May 2010

2. Overview 1. The Climate Change Act (2008) - What does it say? - How does it work? 2. Climate policy in the UK - How the UK implements the Act? 3. The Politics of Climate Change - Why there are still major challenges - Fairness and the climate paradox 4. The Way Forward

3. 1. The Climate Change Act • Passed in 2008 following a major UK campaign (see http://opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2008/ukpga_20080027_en_2#pt1) • Four main elements: • 2050 target of at least 80% reductions in GHG emissions below 1990 levels • 2020 interim target of at least 34% reductions in GHG emissions below 1990 levels (without offset credits) • Carbon budgets in five year periods (now set to 2022) • Climate Change Committee established to advise on targets, budgets and policy (see http://www.theccc.org.uk/home)

4. 1. The Climate Change Act Source: Department for Energy and Climate Change

5. 2. Climate policy in the UK • EU ETS • Covers the high emitters in the UK economy§§ • CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme • Non ETS sectors, such as supermarkets and hospitals • 20,000 organisations taking part with 5,000 buying permits • Renewables Obligation • Predates the Climate Change Act as was established in 2002 • Recent revision weight subsidy in favour of offshore wind • Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) • Aimed at households to encourage efficiency • Obligation is on energy suppliers to provide household efficiency

6. 2. Climate policy in the UK • Climate Change Levy • A small levy on energy use for businesses; recycled as a tax relief • Likely to be changed to become a tax on emissions • Moratorium on coal power • Previous government had agreed no new coal without CCS • New government may introduce and EPS • Energy Bill expected in new Parliament • Likely to include provisions for new nuclear • Possible focus on de-centralised energy • Feed-in-tariff • Was due to go ahead for small and domestic installations • May now be expanded to overlap with RO

7. 3. Politics of Climate Change • 3. Politics of Climate Change • 3. Politics of Climate Change

8. 3. Politics of Climate Change Debate in UK is far from settled

9. 3. Politics of Climate Change • 3. Politics of Climate Change • 3. Politics of Climate Change

10. 3. Politics of Climate Change Figure 1: Distributional effect of carbon tax @ £25 per tonne of CO2 (ippr 2010)

11. 4. The Way Forward • 3. Politics of Climate Change • 3. Politics of Climate Change

12. Even in the climate-progressive UK, there are deep troubles ahead as climate policy ‘bites’. There is a need to reframe away from climate policy for the sake of the climate ippr’s research suggests that in the UK, that means a focus on energy security (the end of cheap oil and gas!) Fairness is also important - although Norway is already a fairer country than the UK! Each country may well be different; ippr plans to repeat its research elsewhere. The end of the road for environmentalism, or just a new road altogether? 4. The Way Forward

13. THANK YOU For further information, please contact a.pendleton@ippr.org / www.ippr.org