Lord Turner warns recession must not slow green progress

The chairman of the government's climate change committee, Lord Adair Turner, has signalled that the committee will not let the current recession discourage it from recommending demanding carbon budgets for the next 15 years when it publishes its first report on Monday.

In a wide-reaching interview with The Guardian newspaper, Turner warned that government and businesses should not be allowed to use the economic downturn to justify a scaling back of ambitious plans to build a low-carbon economy.

"It's very important to avoid misuse of the temporary downturn for lessening policies," he said, hinting that the committee will call for investment in new low-carbon technologies to accelerate, despite the financial crisis.

He also said that there could be a silver lining to the downturn for some low carbon infrastructure projects, arguing that while many developers are finding it harder to access capital, falling raw material costs should provide assistance to renewable projects such as wind farms.

However, he warned that the government and green groups should be careful not to overstate the benefits associated with a low carbon economy.

Both politicians and business leaders have been calling for a "Green New Deal " in recent weeks, which they claim will help cut carbon emissions and create jobs.

But Turner warned predictions of an employment boom were based on a misconception, arguing that any new jobs in low carbon industries would only serve to replace lost jobs in declining high carbon sectors. "Everything we know about economic theory tells us there will be as many jobs in a low-carbon economy as a high-carbon economy," he explained.

On Monday, the committee will recommend emission targets for the first three five-year carbon budgets running to 2023 and set out a strategy for ensuring the budgets are met. The government will then publish its official budgets next March and follow that with a report in the summer outlining how it plans to achieve them.

Turner said the will feature support for government plans for an energy mix built around increased nuclear and renewables capacity and new carbon capture and storage technologies.

It is also expected to outline plans for more electric cars and a shift from gas to electric heating.

And controversially it could include tacit support for the government's plans for a third runway at Heathrow.

Earlier this week, Environment Agency chairman Lord Chris Smith said the watchdog had serious reservations about the plans, warning that Heathrow expansion would undermine the UK's environmental credentials and likely result in the UK breaching EU rules on air and noise pollution.

However, Turner told The Guardian that expansion of the aviation industry could prove compatible with the target of reducing emissions 80 per cent by 2050, especially if new biofuels prove effective.

"It's possible for the world to cut greenhouse gases while still not cutting aviation by anything like as much, even increase aviation emissions," he said.

The comments come as airport operator BAA sought to alleviate concerns over its expansion plans, claiming that it would curb the number of flights from the airport if it was found to breach local air and noise pollution rules.

The company said it would call on the government to appoint an independent watchdog to assess noise and air pollution levels, adding that the new committee should have the power to limit the number of flights if acceptable levels are breached.