UK Climate Target Flop Fuels Green Rage, Opposition Contempt - Economist

[hatrack]

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So it was that on March 28th a coterie of British ministers admitted what everyone had suspected for some time—that Britain would miss its self-imposed target. That was the main conclusion of the Climate Change review, an official report that was supposed to suggest ways to hit it. Instead, the review forecasts reductions in emissions of just 15-18%, assuming all its recommendations are enacted. Green groups are furious, opposition spokesmen contemptuous. Even business is unimpressed: the Engineering Employers Federation described the report as “feeble.”

All this is embarrassing for a government that has put so much stock in greenery. The 20% pledge has featured in every election manifesto since 1997. In an impressive feat of intellectual contortionism, ministers insist that they have not abandoned the target—it is just that they don't think their new measures will achieve it. Instead of taking a tougher line, they are appealing to a sense of civic duty to make up the difference.

The government is keen to point out that Britain should still meet its Kyoto target. Labour's support for wind farms is one reason. Another is the switch to cleaner gas-fired power as electricity markets were liberalised under its predecessors.

Why is the tougher, self-imposed target proving so elusive? Some of the reasons are beyond official control. Margaret Beckett, the environment secretary, blames faster-than-expected economic growth and high natural gas prices, which are prompting power companies to switch back to dirtier coal. She says that, since the government is exploring uncharted territory, some of its policies are bound to be less effective than it hoped. But most of the blame belongs at the government's door. One problem is a lack of leadership. The environment department (DEFRA) insists that it is in charge. But the report is nine months late, mainly because of a row between DEFRA and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) over carbon allocations for the next round of the European Union's Emissions-Trading Scheme (which caps carbon emissions in certain industries and allows firms to trade pollution permits).

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http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displayStory.cfm?story_id=6746635