Low Carbon Transition Plan - The Reaction

Dr Neil Bentley, CBI Director of Business Environment

"Business has been urging the Government for some time to set out a detailed roadmap for getting the UK on course to a low-carbon future. This is a promising start, and includes many measures the CBI has been calling for to reduce emissions across the economy. We need to maintain the momentum to ensure the Government's plan is turned into action quickly.

"However, question marks remain over the ability of these plans to attract the £150bn of private sector investment needed to renew our energy infrastructure, improve energy security, and allow us to meet climate change targets.

"Urgent action needs to be taken to speed up reform of the national planning system. National policy statements must be published before the year is out, so companies can invest in new low-carbon projects with confidence."

Tom Delay, Chief Executive of the Carbon Trust

"We need a six fold increase in renewable energy generation in just eleven years. This can be achieved but will require not just a transformation in technology, but in political, economic and industrial thinking.

"This was the test of the strategies published today. Do they signal the government intervention needed to ensure barriers to deployment, like planning, are ripped down? Do they unleash a new wave of industrial activity to ensure the UK, like other countries, captures the real the economic benefits from this clean tech revolution? And will it set long term price signals to boost investor confidence and trigger the massive shift in financing needed?

"Today's announcements are very welcome because they significantly reduce investment risk, make some clear choices on UK technology advantage, and tackle some of the key barriers to deployment. But the true test of this new clean tech industrialism is how this new policy framework drives the action and investment needed from business."

"To deliver this project we will need Herculean effort, and sustained political and engineering action. We can boost our economy, create new industries and new jobs, but we must take action now or risk letting this tremendous opportunity slip between our fingers."

Maria McCaffery MBE, Chief Executive of BWEA

"We welcome the Government's commitment to delivering on the 2020 targets. They have rightly ignored the siren calls to abandon wind as the driving force for reaching the targets.

"The Renewable Energy Strategy provides a clear routemap for the growth of a new £60bn industry and the creation of 60,000 UK jobs. However, industry is now looking for a cross party consensus on the detail of delivery. This will help convince investors that the country is serious about fighting climate change and developing domestic, renewable sources of energy."

Tracy Carty, senior policy advisor at the Green Alliance

"Today's renewable energy strategy is the biggest breakthrough we've had yet on the development of renewable energy in the UK. The plans are ambitious and aim to overcome significant barriers such as getting renewables connected to the grid and delays caused by the planning process.

"Any plan for addressing our future energy needs will bring unavoidable costs. Today's plan presents the opportunity to strengthen our energy security by increasing the amount of home grown energy and reducing our dependence on imports. This is in line with the serious political imperative of tackling climate change."

Gaynor Hartnell, Director of Policy at the Renewable Energy Association

"The renewables industry has had a tough time in the UK for many years and it has missed out on technologies where it should have led the world. What we heard from Mr Miliband today shows a level of understanding and political leadership that suggests that may be about to change."

Lucy Neville-Rolfe, executive director at Tesco

"We welcome the white paper as we know how important combating climate change is now and to future generations. Tesco is a leading player in tackling the challenge. Our measures are designed to reduce our own emissions and make it easy for customers to make green choices. Today's white paper highlights the value of initiatives such as our electric car charging plans, the world's first zero carbon store and carbon labelling of hundreds of products."

John Alker, spokesman for the UK Green Building Council

"The UK's number one priority has to be energy efficiency to help cut emissions and customer bills. It is essential that we invest in a massive programme of energy efficiency in our homes and buildings. The "Pay As You Save " scheme for homes will allow the upfront cost of energy efficiency measures to be paid for with ongoing savings from reduced energy bills. Such a scheme could secure up to £5 billion a year through the private sector to invest in energy efficiency improvements and create thousands of new jobs.

"This ambition needs to be matched in the commercial and public buildings sector, which are responsible for 18 per cent of our CO2 emissions. For a start, we need to introduce Display Energy Certificates for all buildings so we can see how they actually perform.

"We're still lacking a clear roadmap for the non-domestic building sector – where do we need to get to, by when and how are we going to get there? There is no over-arching framework that helps make sense of this collection of well-meaning but ultimately quite bitty set of policies."

Andy Atkins, Executive Director at Friends of the Earth

"Today's announcements are a significant step towards the creation of a safe,
clean and low-carbon future. Developing the UK's world class renewable energy potential and getting tough on energy waste will create new green jobs and industries, tackle fuel poverty and reduce our dependence on fossil fuel.

"Paying homes, businesses and communities for generating clean power will enable
millions of people to make money from the green energy revolution - we're
pleased that ministers have pledged to protect vulnerable people from unfair
energy price hikes.

"But bolder measures are still required to ensure that the UK plays its full
part in combating climate change - we need more ambitious emissions cuts,
greater levels of investment and an industrial strategy that really delivers.

"In particular the Government must listen to scientific advice and agree to cut
UK emissions by at least 42 per cent by 2020 - and ensure these targets are met
by real action at home and not by buying offsets from abroad."