On Mon, 19 Sep 2011 14:48:58 +1000, "AGWlies"
greenielies@greenielies wrote:



As one English delegate put it: ''The Chinese don't give a stuff about
greenhouse emissions, and nor do I.''

http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cm..._art_0911.aspx

One of David Cameron’s first acts as Prime Minister was to come to the
Department of Energy and Climate Change last May and declare his
ambition that this Coalition should be the greenest government ever.

This was no idle promise.

Being green and transforming our economy away from dependence on
expensive fossil fuels to one powered by low carbon energy is no ‘tree
huggers’ charter.

It’s an essential prerequisite of a modern and successful twenty-first
century globally competitive economy.

It’s about warmer homes, quieter and cleaner cars, greater economic
and energy security, as well as jobs and business opportunities
created by the low-carbon transition.

But words won’t be enough if Britain is to succeed in this
transformation. Whether we meet our ‘greenest government ever’ aim
will be judged by our actions.

Just over twelve months in, those actions have so far been
considerable, with significant progress demonstrated.

Firstly, we are creating the conditions for green growth, investing
billions of pounds of public money into low-carbon infrastructure and
undertaking reforms designed to attract greater amounts of private
investment into the green economy.

This includes £3 billion for the new Green Investment Bank and £1
billion for the world’s largest carbon capture and storage
demonstration plant.

We have also launched the world’s first incentive scheme of its kind
for renewable heat. Primed by £860 million of Treasury funding, the
scheme could increase investment in green heat technologies by a
massive £7.5 billion by 2020, transforming the way we heat our homes
and businesses.

And to lay the ground for future investment across the power sector,
we have announced pioneering reforms to the UK’s electricity market to
encourage greater investment into low-carbon electricity plants, while
mindful of the need to protect the interests of energy intensive
manufacturing industry.

We are very clear that under this new administration ‘decarbonisation’
must not mean ‘deindustrialisation’. On the contrary, we need a
revival of high value advanced manufacturing to help rebalance our
economy and drive the low-carbon transition.

These add up to changes that will make the UK the destination of
choice for global low-carbon investment.

Secondly, we have put energy saving at the heart of our actions – both
inside and outside government.

One of the early tests set by the Prime Minister was for Whitehall HQs
to show leadership and to cut their carbon emissions by 10% in one
year. In just 12 months the Government has delivered on its
commitment. David Cameron announced in July that we had not just
scraped by, but had cut emissions by 13.8% with some departments,
including the Department for Education and my own Department of Energy
and Climate Change, cutting emissions by over 20%.

Outside of Whitehall, the Green Deal – the details of which are
currently before Parliament in the Energy Bill – will be Britain’s
biggest home improvement programme since the Second World War.

Its purpose is simple: to stamp out for good the huge energy wastage
that’s afflicting Britain’s homes and businesses. Our buildings are
often old and inefficient in how they are heated, which means a
massive upgrade is needed.

The Green Deal will establish a framework to enable well known high
street names – the likes of B&Q and M&S – to offer consumers energy
efficiency improvements and recoup payments through a charge in
instalments on the energy bill.

It’s a transformational policy with Green Deal companies offering up
to £10,000 upfront – in some cases, even more – to pay for energy
efficiency work, repaying the costs through savings on energy bills.

Finally, with the UK responsible for less than 2% of global emissions,
action at home is not enough if we’re to tackle climate change and
live up to our green promises. We’ve got to use our muscle to spread
the message that the whole world needs to go low carbon.

Already, we have made inroads in Europe and have built support to
increase the EU’s reduction target to a 30% cut by 2020. And globally,
the UK played a leading role at last December’s Cancun Climate
Conference, which made real steps forward. The priority is to build on
that as we approach the next talks at Durban later this year.

Despite a difficult financial environment, we are determined to make
good the Prime Minister’s promise that this is the greenest government
ever.

The recent fourth carbon budget announcement that proposed to halve
emissions in 15 years’ time illustrated our approach – giving
certainty to investors in the low-carbon economy while protecting
businesses today.

As the Prime Minister himself recently said: “The transition to a
low-carbon economy is necessary, real, and global. By stepping up,
showing leadership and competing with the world, the UK can prove that
there need not be a tension between green and growth.”

On the contrary, it is our path to genuine prosperity.