Casework can be a bit like the ending of those horror films when the vanquished foe struggles back from the dead for one last attempt to prevent a happy ending.
Well, one real horror story is the prospect of being committed to a high carbon, gas and coal-burning future. A sticky end that becomes more likely if the coalition Government is really intent on breathing life into the dirty coal business.
News, today, that the environmental performance standard (EPS) is not to be included in the coalition Government’s Energy Bill signals that the pressure will be reduced on companies to limit the carbon they emit from power stations burning coal or gas. This is one of those moments when the media love to say that the news was greeted by howls of protest from environmentalists, I think that’s a bit of euphemism as I haven’t heard an actual howl yet, but quite a few choice words.
Choosing his words very careful is our head of Climate Policy, Harry Huyton ‘The conservatives and liberal democrats have been enthusiastic supporters of an emissions standard for new power plants during their time in opposition. Dropping it from this year’s Energy Bill without clear plans to introduce one any time soon, and shelving the plans apparently indefinitely can only be interpreted as a failure to stand by one of the coalition’s flagship green commitments’.
This risks letting Hunterston, or any other new coal plants (including Kingsnorth) through the net and deflecting the UK from the path towards emission targets set under the Climate Change Act. At a stroke, we could be locked into a pathway to a high carbon dependant future with the UK’s reputation as an international leader in tatters.
An EPS is a crucial signpost on a fork in the roads to high or low carbon futures, in needs to be an important part of the new Government’s first attempt at energy legislation. Failure to include an EPS for new coal and gas sends a signal that the coalition Government is back-tracking on their commitment end dirty fossil fuels.
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It sounds as if they've looked at the figures and realised we have a major energy-supply problem as the old nuclear power stations are retired. Now, if only we'd started replacing them a bit sooner...