Gas may dash carbon budgets

12th October 2012


Gas

Related Topics

Related tags

  • Energy ,
  • Water ,
  • Conventional ,
  • Generation

Author

IEMA

The UK will fail to meet its carbon budgets and its 2050 carbon reduction target if the government pursues a policy of gas-fired electricity generation, says the committee on climate change (CCC)

The CCC's warning came in a letter to the prime minister and the energy secretary and followed a recent government statement that it "sees gas as continuing to play an important role in the energy mix well into and beyond 2030 ... [not] restricted to providing back-up to renewables”.

The committee says the government’s stance is incompatible with meeting legislated carbon budgets.

It also warns that the government’s position could undermine investment in low-carbon generation.

“The apparently ambivalent position of the government about whether it is trying to build a low-carbon or a gas-based power system weakens the signal provided by the carbon budgets to investors,” says the CCC. The committee claims investors already regard the climate for low-carbon generation as very poor.

To address the risk that investors will shun low-carbon technologies, the CCC, which recently appointed Lord Deben as its new chair, wants the government to include a carbon-intensity target for the power sector in the planned electricity market reform (EMR). It recommends that carbon intensity is limited to 50gCO2 per kWh by 2030.

In a separate letter to the government, the Aldersgate Group also demands a carbon intensity target for the sector, claiming it would provide investors with long-term clarity and certainty, and ensure the UK meets its carbon budgets.

“We must put an end to any political uncertainty surrounding the UK’s energy future and start unleashing the billions of pounds of overdue investment which will deliver new growth for our economy,” said the group’s chair, Peter Young.

Energy and climate change secretary Ed Davey responded to the CCC letter by confirming that the government was considering an electricity decarbonisation target, but claimed the EMR would create significant decarbonisation without including such a specific target.

He also said that the government continues to see gas as important in the transition to a low-carbon electricity supply. “We need a diverse mix of all the technologies to keep the lights on and lower our emissions [and] we have always said this will include gas-fired plant,” he said. “After 2030 we expect that gas will increasingly be used only as back-up, or fitted with carbon capture and storage.”

The disagreement between the government and the CCC came as the energy secretary told the Guardian that 20 new gas-fired power stations will be built in the UK by 2030.

At the same time, new energy minister John Hayes officially opened one of Europe’s largest gas-fired power stations, a 2,000MW plant in Pembrokeshire, and energy company ESB confirmed it is to build an 880MW gas-powered plant outside Manchester, which will open in 2016.

Meanwhile, a new study has again highlighted the potential risks to the environment from extracting gas from unconventional sources, such as shale gas. The study, for the European Commission, claims there is high risk that shale gas extraction in Europe will contaminate both groundwater and surface water, and pose risks to biodiversity.

The report states that the gas exploration industry faces a challenge to ensure the integrity of wells and other equipment throughout the life cycle of a project and beyond to avoid the risk of water contamination.

The study also warns that spillages of chemicals and wastewater with potential environmental consequences must be avoided during the development and operational lifetime of an exploration site.

Subscribe

Subscribe to IEMA's newsletters to receive timely articles, expert opinions, event announcements, and much more, directly in your inbox.


Transform articles

UK’s CCUS strategy based on outdated assumptions, government warned

The UK government’s carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) strategy is based on optimistic techno-economic assumptions that are now outdated, Carbon Tracker has warned.

13th March 2024

Read more

The UK government’s latest Public Attitudes Tracker has found broad support for efforts to tackle climate change, although there are significant concerns that bills will rise.

13th March 2024

Read more

A consortium including IEMA and the Good Homes Alliance have drafted a letter to UK government ministers expressing disappointment with the proposed Future Homes Standard.

26th February 2024

Read more

Global corporations such as Amazon and Google purchased a record 46 gigawatts (GW) of solar and wind energy last year, according to BloombergNEF (BNEF).

13th February 2024

Read more

Three-quarters of UK adults are concerned about the impact that climate change will have on their bills, according to polling commissioned by Positive Money.

13th February 2024

Read more

The reality of delivering net zero is that we need solutions tailored to specific areas. Peter Gudde explores models that local authorities could adopt

15th January 2024

Read more

Heat pump installations in UK homes increased by nearly a fifth last year, with over 200,000 now having been installed across the country.

11th January 2024

Read more

Last year was the warmest ever recorded, surpassing the previous annual high set in 2016 by a large margin, scientists have confirmed today.

9th January 2024

Read more

Media enquires

Looking for an expert to speak at an event or comment on an item in the news?

Find an expert

IEMA Cookie Notice

Clicking the ‘Accept all’ button means you are accepting analytics and third-party cookies. Our website uses necessary cookies which are required in order to make our website work. In addition to these, we use analytics and third-party cookies to optimise site functionality and give you the best possible experience. To control which cookies are set, click ‘Settings’. To learn more about cookies, how we use them on our website and how to change your cookie settings please view our cookie policy.

Manage cookie settings

Our use of cookies

You can learn more detailed information in our cookie policy.

Some cookies are essential, but non-essential cookies help us to improve the experience on our site by providing insights into how the site is being used. To maintain privacy management, this relies on cookie identifiers. Resetting or deleting your browser cookies will reset these preferences.

Essential cookies

These are cookies that are required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our website.

Analytics cookies

These cookies allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors to our website and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works.

Advertising cookies

These cookies allow us to tailor advertising to you based on your interests. If you do not accept these cookies, you will still see adverts, but these will be more generic.

Save and close