{"id":36806,"date":"2018-06-20T16:18:05","date_gmt":"2018-06-20T15:18:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.climatechangenews.com\/?p=36806"},"modified":"2018-06-20T16:18:05","modified_gmt":"2018-06-20T15:18:05","slug":"uk-government-refuses-commit-eu-clean-energy-targets-brexit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.climatechangenews.com\/2018\/06\/20\/uk-government-refuses-commit-eu-clean-energy-targets-brexit\/","title":{"rendered":"UK government refuses to commit to EU clean energy targets after Brexit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Until the UK leaves the EU, it is taking part in Brussels policymaking as usual – including\u00a0a clean energy package agreed on Tuesday.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But the energy department in Westminster has refused to say whether the government\u00a0would stay committed to the targets it agreed after Brexit.<\/p>\n

The package includes\u00a0bloc-wide targets to slash energy waste 32.5%<\/a> by 2030 and generate 32% of energy from renewable sources<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Member states, including the UK, are due to\u00a0outline their national contributions by early 2019, to be negotiated and revised until the numbers add up. That\u00a0horse-trading\u00a0will continue after\u00a0the UK is due to leave the EU in March, 2019.<\/p>\n

Asked\u00a0whether the\u00a0UK would participate in this process\u00a0after Brexit,\u00a0a business, energy and industrial strategy (Beis) department spokesperson said: “We are looking carefully at the EU\u2019s proposed renewable targets.\u201d<\/p>\n

A European Commission spokesperson also demurred, saying\u00a0that would be part of the Brexit negotiations.<\/p>\n

Barry Gardiner, shadow minister for international climate change, said the UK government “should at a minimum agree to uphold these targets after Brexit”.<\/p>\n

If elected, the Labour Party would go further, Gardiner added. Its manifesto includes a push for 60% renewable energy target by 2030 and upgrading 4 million homes to a C energy rating.<\/p>\n

If you\u00a0like what we do, support us<\/strong><\/p>\n

Become a CHN\u00a0patron for as little as $5 per month to help us keep bringing you the most in-depth coverage of climate politics and underreported stories from around the world.<\/p>\n

We have set up\u00a0a Patreon account<\/span><\/a>. It\u2019s a simple, safe and easy way for you to become part of a community that will secure and guide our future.<\/p>\n

Thank you!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The government highlighted UK success in cutting greenhouse gas emissions more than 40% since 1990, while growing the economy by two thirds. Last year renewables generated 29% of electricity.<\/p>\n

However, electricity is only part of the picture. Slow progress on greening heat and transport put the UK off pace for its\u00a02020 renewable energy target. On\u00a0both ambition and deployment, it\u00a0lags behind the EU average<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In EU negotiations, the UK has consistently opposed\u00a0setting renewable and energy efficiency targets, arguing\u00a0for a “technology neutral”<\/a> climate policy. Proponents of sector-specific targets, who won that battle in Brussels, say they give more confidence to green investors and businesses.<\/p>\n

Alongside\u00a0its EU commitments, the UK has\u00a0a climate law that sets out a series of\u00a0“carbon budgets”, leaving some flexibility on how to meet them. The independent Climate Change Committee has warned of “significant gaps”<\/a> in the government’s\u00a0clean growth strategy<\/a> for next decade.<\/p>\n

Gardiner said the strategy lacked detail on how to\u00a0roll out household insulation, for example. “Government needs to come up with a programme of measures as to how that can be achieved. Until they do we can have no confidence that they are committed to playing their proper role in the European targets they have – however reluctantly – signed up to.”<\/p>\n

Jonathan Gaventa, director at thinktank E3G in Brussels, said continuing to\u00a0take part in the EU process was “not particularly burdensome” for the UK.<\/p>\n

“What they will have to do is take the work in this clean growth plan and put it in this [EU] template, which is needed to have transparent comparisons between EU member states,” he said. “Even if the UK is not in this framework, it is a no-regrets step to do that planning.”<\/p>\n

Republish this article<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The UK helped craft a deal on EU renewable and energy efficiency ambition but its participation after it leaves the union is uncertain","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":21134,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[737,82,439],"tags":[3976,303],"coauthors":[3983],"class_list":["post-36806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-efficiency","category-eu","category-renewables","tag-brexit","tag-uk","type-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nUK government refuses to commit to EU clean energy targets after Brexit<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The UK helped craft a deal on EU renewable and energy efficiency ambition but its participation after it leaves the union is uncertain\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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