Friends of the Earth: Councils should be set carbon budgets

Local councils should be set carbon budgets to help encourage community-scale renewable power, green campaigners urged today.

Friends of the Earth said that without a greater focus on medium-scale renewables such as hydroelectric plants and wind turbines, the UK risked missing EU targets to produce 15% of energy from green sources by 2020.

The environmental group wants the Government to set fair targets for local authorities based on the potential they have to cut emissions in their area and local circumstances to ensure Town Halls drive forward efforts to boost renewables and cut emissions.

And they want to see the "feed-in tariff" system, which pays people and organisations for electricity generated from small-scale renewables such as solar panels amended to encourage medium-sized projects as well.

According to a report for Friends of the Earth, the UK is making progress on small-scale renewable generation and large-scale green power such as offshore wind, but a greater focus is needed on medium-scale generation to hit the renewables target.

In addition to supporting councils in driving forward renewables, the report recommends replacing the renewables obligation, the scheme which requires energy companies to invest in green energy, with a feed-in tariff which delivers more certain returns on investment.

And the study, by the members of the Sussex energy group at the University of Sussex, said a green investment bank should be created to fund changes to energy infrastructure such as heat grids and high voltage cables into new areas to support wind power.

Friends of the Earth's senior climate campaigner Tony Bosworth said:
"Local authorities are key to effectively tackling climate change - and they are best place to deliver community-scale green electricity schemes that will help us meet renewable energy targets, as well as create jobs and slash fuel bills for people living in the area.

"We need a nationwide system of local carbon budgets, setting a fair cap on CO2 emissions in each council area, to help every council play its part in tackling climate change by leading ambitious carbon-cutting strategies such as generating green energy, insulating homes and improving public transport."

Former Labour MP Alan Simpson, who is now a sustainable energy advisor to Friends of the Earth, said: "For too long the UK has been in the European slow lane on renewable energy, despite having some of the continent's greatest potential for producing clean power.

"The current incentives system - the renewables obligation - is a labyrinthine mess.

"The Government needs to give green energy investors a bit of TLC: transparency, longevity and certainty are the key qualities that make feed-in tariff incentive schemes such a success in countries like Germany and Spain.

"These Government guarantees are essential if we're to kick-start a renewable energy boom and transform the UK's power supply to safe, clean sources."

The report was published ahead of the Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne making the first annual energy statement to Parliament laying out the coalition Government's policy for cutting emissions and ensuring energy security.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) said: "We agree that local authorities and communities will play a vital role in helping to achieve our national renewable energy targets.

"We want to see communities and individuals owning a stake in our collective low-carbon future and will be introducing strong incentives to encourage this.

"For example, we want communities to directly benefit from wind farms they host.

"This is why we will allow councils to keep the additional business rates paid by wind farms and other renewable energy generators, and support communities in having a stake in appropriately-sited renewable energy projects like wind farms."

And she said: "Decc is in discussion with Friends of the Earth on its proposals for local carbon budgets."