Energy MPs urge UK Govt. to include aviation and shipping emissions in carbon-budget

The Government should accept the recommendation of its climate change advisers in setting the level of the fifth carbon budget (covering the period 2028-32) and also set a power sector carbon intensity target of 100 gCO2/kWh for 2030 to provide certainty for investors.

That is one of the conclusions of the House of Commons cross-party Energy and Climate Change Committee in its latest report, which also recommends that emissions from international shipping be included in the carbon-budget now that the accounting methods appear to be settled;

And they also urge the Government to work with international partners to secure an agreed mechanism for controlling aviation emissions

Committee Chairman Angus MacNeil MP (SNP) said: “Meeting our Climate Change Act targets and commitments made in Paris will require action across the board.

“But decarbonising our power sector is – along with energy efficiency – the most cost-effective way of reducing our emissions. It will also be vital in reducing emissions from the heat sector and from transport, as we electrify our rail network and road vehicles.”

“The UK can’t afford any further delays when it comes to replacing dirty power stations with cleaner forms of generation. Investors need certainty and setting a decarbonisation target for the electricity sector would signal the Government’s commitment to phasing out fossil fuels.”

“Should the Government deviate from the Committee on Climate Change’s advice for the fifth carbon budget, we will be looking carefully for a robust evidence-base on any alternative level proposed.”

The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) published its advice on the level for the fifth carbon budget on 26 November 2015. It recommended that the budget should be set at 1,765 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e), including 40 MtCO2e emissions from international shipping, which the CCC recommended including in the budget for the first time.