November 7, 2003—Businesses want to comply with the governments emission targets but are having trouble sourcing enough green energy, says a new report.
BT successfully reduced its carbon dioxide emissions, across all sources, by 40% between 1996 and 2003. A key element of this strategy was the procurement of renewable electricity supplies, reaching a total of 4.6% in 2002.
During the 2003 financial year, however, the amount of renewable energy that BT purchased fell by over 50%. Reasons for this include:
- A general shortage of supply in the market
- Heightened competition for what little supply there is available
- Significant price premiums undermining the internal business case
- Difficulties in securing long-term and price-stable contracts
This experience seems to back concern amongst energy specialists that the UK will struggle to meet the 10% by 2010 target set under the Renewables Obligation, let alone the aspiration to hit 20% by 2020 as outlined in the Energy White Paper.
The Forum for the Future completed a new report for BT in which it details some key policy recommendations that Government needs to consider if these market barriers are to be overcome. Principal amongst these are:
- increased public investment in renewables
- extending the renewables regulatory regime to 2020
- stricter enforcement of criteria governing green tariffs to rebuild trust in the market
- the introduction of binding national carbon reduction targets up to 2050
For more information, contact The Forum for the Future.
Reprinted with permission; copyright 2003 i-FM
