Fiona Morgan and Julie Howe
1 Aug 2024
Is this the Green revolution we have been waiting for?
Since the new Labour Government came to power on 5 July, a number of announcements have been made regarding the transition to net zero. These include nine of the bills in the King’s Speech on the 17 July.
Energy
Setting up Great British Energy, a publicly owned company, that will invest in renewable energy: the Government’s overarching intention is to double onshore wind, triple solar power and quadruple offshore wind by 2030.[1]
In relation to installing roof top solar, Ed Milliband (Energy Secretary) stated, “We will encourage builders and homeowners, in whatever way we can, to deliver this win-win technology to millions of addresses in the UK so people can provide their own electricity, cut their bills and at the same time help fight climate change.”[2]
He also approved 3 massive solar farms in the East of England which will have a capacity of approx. 1.35 GW (around 10% of current capacity).[3]
The Government has also lifted the effective ban on onshore windfarms in England and stated that the decision to approve a new coalmine in Cumbria in 2022 was unlawful, because emissions from burning coal were not considered in the planning decision.[4]
Planning changes
The Government has set out its intention to build 1.5 million homes, including on some green belt sites.[5] To what extent developers will be compelled to install solar and other renewables on new homes is not yet known.
Nature
According to the Guardian, ‘Little mention was made about Nature, other than the promise to “use development to fund nature recovery”, mainly through the Biodiversity Net Gain mechanism by which developers must restore and improve the natural environment and species habitats in return for being allowed to build.’[6]
The Water (Special Measures) Bill aims to strengthen regulation, giving the water regulator new powers to ban the payment of bonuses if environmental standards are not met, to increase accountability for water executives and to increase investment in infrastructure.[7] Questions remain over the extent to which this will help to address pollution across Welsh and English waterways and beaches.
Transport
Other transport related bills that will have climate related impacts include the Better Buses Bill - councils across England will be able to determine the details of bus services provided by private companies, such as routes, timetables and standards.[8]
There were several railway bills, including one taking passenger railway services back into public ownership and a high-speed rail (Crewe to Manchester) bill.
The Sustainable Aviation Fuels Bill – begging the question: does such a thing exist?
What do you think of the Climate Action-related announcements so far? How effective will they be? We would love to hear your opinions. Contact the team at admin@zerocarbonshropshire.org or fiona@mea.org.uk.
[1] Make Britain a clean energy superpower, The Labour Party
[2] Labour’s ‘rooftop revolution’ to deliver solar power to millions of UK homes, The Guardian
[3] ibid
[4] UK: Cumbria coalmine was unlawfully approved, Carbon Brief
[5] From green energy to rivers, environment at heart of nine plans in king’s speech, The Guardian
[6] ibid
[7] Government introduces new bill to clean up water sector, Defra
[8] Councils to get power to replicate London’s bus network nationwide, Evening Standard