Government raises prospect of increase to 2020 emission target

The government looks set to increase the UK's emission reduction target for 2020 after confirming that it will not rely on the reduction in emissions brought about by the recession to help it meet future carbon budgets.

In its formal response to the first annual report from the independent Committee on Climate Change (CCC), the government accepted the committee's recommendation that it effectively ignore emission reductions that have been achieved as a result of the economic downturn.

However, it ducked some of the more controversial recommendations made by the CCC report last autumn, rejecting proposals that it intervene in the European emissions trading scheme (ETS) to drive up the price of carbon and announcing only that it will publish plans to curb emissions from aviation at a later date.

The first CCC report was released in October last year and called for a " step change" in the pace of UK emission reductions, warning that emissions fell by an average of 0.5 per cent a year in the five years to 2007 when cuts of two and three per cent a year are required to meet the first three carbon budgets in the run-up to 2022. The 256-page report also advised that "recession-induced reductions must not be confused with underlying progress".

Speaking today, energy and climate change secretary Ed Miliband said that any overachievement in the first carbon budget that results from the recession will not be carried forward to allow for higher emissions in the next two carbon budgets.

The UK is currently ahead of its target to cut emissions 34 per cent on 1990 levels by 2020 and expects to deliver emission reductions of 36 per cent by the end of the decade. Today's commitment means that if the UK is still ahead of the target at the end of the first five-year budget in 2013, it will raise the overall emission reduction target for 2020.

The government's response also addressed a number of the concerns raised by the committee's report over emissions from coal-fired power stations, the pace of building energy efficiency improvements, incentives for low-carbon vehicles and the level of clean tech investment.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said that since the publication of its Low Carbon Transition Plan last summer, it had made significant progress on a number of fronts.

Most notably, it said that it was moving forward with proposals to ensure no new coal-fired power plants are built without carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology fitted, had published National Policy Statements that would accelerate the rollout of low-carbon power projects, and was moving to increase investment in renewable and nuclear power while addressing planning constraints.

It added that it was also putting the finishing touches to its Household Energy Management Strategy, which will detail how the government plans to meet the committee's recommendation that it accelerates improvements in building energy efficiency.

However, the government response appears to downplay the CCC's warning that the ETS will not deliver a carbon price that is high enough to stimulate sufficient investment in low-carbon energy infrastructure.

The committee, chaired by Lord Turner, recommended that the government consider imposing a floor price on carbon that would give energy firms greater certainty over the returns from low-carbon investments.

But a spokeswoman for the DECC said the government remained confident that existing plans to lower the cap on emissions from 2013 onwards would prove the most efficient means of driving up the carbon price. She added that the government would include a review of whether or not the existing energy market framework is effectively stimulating low-carbon investment in this year's budget.

The government's 67-page response also appeared to dodge the contentious issue of aviation emissions after the CCC recommended last month that the UK should aim to curb the expected increase in demand for flying in order to ensure emissions do not exceed 2005 levels by 2050.

A spokesman for the Department for Transport said that the government was looking at the committee's recommendations on aviation and would respond in due course.

Friends of the Earth climate campaigner Simon Bullock said the CCC's recommendations highlighted the need for the government to roll out more ambitious policies for tackling emissions.

"We welcome government plans announced last week to expand offshore wind – but further bold policies are needed to slash UK emissions and ensure that this country benefits from its huge renewable energy resources," he said. "This should include improving its feed-in tariff proposals to encourage more homes, businesses and communities to generate green energy, introducing a comprehensive programme to slash energy waste and setting local carbon budgets to ensure that local authorities play their full part in tackling climate change."