Tory MP tables decarbonisation amendment to coalition's energy bill

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/feb/08/tory-mp-amendment-energy-bill

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The government is coming under renewed pressure to commit to removing carbon dioxide from electricity generation to combat climate change, following an amendment to the coalition's energy bill from a Conservative party backbencher.

Tim Yeo, a former minister, has tabled an amendment that would force electricity generators to remove coal-fired and gas-fired power stations from their networks by 2030, unless those plants were equipped with machinery to capture and store carbon dioxide emissions.

The amendment, which was co-sponsored by the Labour MP Barry Gardiner, says the should be subject to a decarbonisation target governing how many grammes of carbon dioxide could be emitted for every kWh of electricity. In effect, the targets they suggest – which are in line with those proposed by the Committee on Climate Change, the statutory body set up to advise ministers on how to meet the UK's long-term carbon reduction targets – would rule out new coal power plants, and mean that any existing or new gas-fired power stations operating in 2030 would have to use technology to capture and store at least some of their carbon emissions.

Yeo, who chairs the influential select committee of MPs on energy and climate change, is acting in defiance of his party leaders by tabling the amendment.

Labour is likely to back the amendment, as the party's leader, Ed Miliband, has firmly supported a target of decarbonising the energy sector by 2030. But the reaction of the Liberal Democrats is unclear, as they back the coalition line on the energy bill.

Green campaigners said the amendment would focus attention on the reaction of the Lib Dems, who are in favour of stiffer carbon reductions but who have stayed loyal to coalition energy policy, which has resisted calls for the decarbonisation of the energy industry. Ed Davey, the Lib Dem energy and climate change secretary, has not given his views on the amendment since it was proposed, though he has said that most businesses he has spoken to support such a target.

Gaynor Hartnell, chief executive of the Renewable Energy Association, said the amendment would increase the chances of investment in the UK's clean energy technologies. "This would send a clear signal that the UK means business when it comes to decarbonisation," she said. "We have a legally binding carbon reduction target for 2050 and the sooner we have clarity on the path for achieving it, the better. It will boost the confidence of those who need to invest the billions of pounds required to deliver a sustainable future."

Keith Allott, chief adviser on climate change at WWF, urged MPs to support the amendment because it would give greater certainty to financial investors and companies eyeing major energy infrastructure projects across the UK. He said: "[It] will give confidence to businesses and investors now, not at some vague point in the future as proposed by the government. A carbon intensity target would help the UK attract investment in a new British supply chain with thousands of jobs across the country and show that we're serious about reducing emissions and embracing clean renewable energy."

But he also warned that the government was not aligning its policies with the advice of the statutory Committee on Climate Change. Allott said: "The government has started to show a disturbing willingness to question the committee's advice. Ignoring it brings into question their commitment to deliver on the UK's world-leading Climate Change Act."

Many Tory MPs are now openly questioning the Climate Change Act, which has been the foundation of environment policy for several years.

The Committee on Climate Change's suggested target, of no power station producing more than 50g of CO2 per kWh from 2030, has been endorsed by the energy secretary, Ed Davey, but is not included in the forthcoming energy bill, which is expected to become law this year.