* Lucas welcomes many of the proposols, but slams
Government for being too vague
* Green MP attacks handouts to nuclear, and lack of
support for onshore wind and solar
, the Green Party co-leader,
has said that the Government has 'blown' an opportunity to meet
its climate targets after it published the Clean Growth
Strategy.
Lucas, who said that many of the proposols in the strategy are
'welcome', argued that document overall was 'too vague to
guarantee success'.
said:
"The Government has blown this enormous opportunity to put
Britain on track to meet its climate target. This should
have been a greenprint for the future, but instead this
looks like a blueprint for under-achievement.
Missing targets
"This strategy suggests they won’t meet the fourth and fifth
carbon budgets [1] and, while some of the aspirations in the
document certainly move us in the right direction, they don’t go
far enough to shift this UK to a zero carbon future.
“While many of these proposals are welcome, parts of the document
appear too vague to guarantee success. The energy efficiency
upgrades, for example, seem ambitious but are caveated with
unspecific language and no cast iron guarantees.
Failure on onshore wind and tidal
"The lack of a plan to reinvigorate onshore wind is a huge
missed opportunity - especially given that this is the cheapest
low carbon technology available. Similarly a lack of commitment
to solar and a persistent refusal to fully back tidal
energy are serious shortcomings from a strategy that should be
embracing the technologies of the future. When it comes to
democratising energy this strategy also fell woefully short -
and risks locking us into years more centralisation."
Ploughing millions into new nuclear
"It's absurd to see the Government ploughing more than
half of the low carbon innovation fund in nuclear[3], when we
should be doubling down on the incredible progress in truly
renewable energy. There is no role for overpriced, dirty
nuclear power in an energy system fit for the future."
Failure on airport expansion
"It's shocking that this plan fails to get a grip on key
issues around transport. With no plans rethink airport
growth [4], and nothing new reducing Britain's dependence
on cars, it's clear that the Government have utterly failed
to truly understand just how big they need to be thinking
if they're serious about placing our economy on a truly
sustainable footing."
“This should have been a greenprint for an economy fit for the
future, instead it seems that the Government risks damning the
next generation by failing to take the action now that will
protect them from the dangers of climate breakdown in the coming
decades."
ENDS
[1] Page 41, Table 2
[2] Page 13
We want all fuel poor homes to be upgraded to Energy Performance
Certificate (EPC) Band C by 2030 and our aspiration is
for as many homes as possible to be
EPC Band C by 2035 where practical, cost-effective
and affordable
Develop a long term trajectory to improve the energy performance
standards of privatelyrented homes, with the aim of
upgrading as many as possible to EPC
Band C by 2030 where practical, cost-effective and
affordable
Consult on how social housing can meet
similar standards over this period
[3] Page 15
Innovation: Invest around £900 million of public funds, including
around:
• £265 million in smart systems to reduce the cost of electricity
storage, advance innovative demand response technologies and
develop new ways of balancing the grid
• £460 million in nuclear to support
work in areas including future nuclear fuels, new
nuclear manufacturing techniques, recycling and reprocessing, and
advanced reactor design
• £177 million to further reduce the cost of renewables,
including innovation in offshore wind turbine blade technology
and foundations
[4] Page 153
