Executive Summary
Table 1.
Milestones for the coming year
Sector Action Timing Power
Provide a long-term view of future low-carbon power auctions and continue to run auctions beyond the Spring 2019 Contract-for-Difference auction. These should be sufficient to reach an emissions intensity below 100 gCO
2
/kWh by 2030, including a route to market for the cheapest forms of low-carbon generation (i.e. onshore wind and solar). Spring 2019 onwards
Buildings
Publish concrete policies to deliver the Government's ambition on retrofit (EPC band C by 2035)
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including firm policies forable-to-pay (ATP) homeowners and a delivery mechanism for the social housing minimum standards. 2018 Address major delivery risks around the Private Rented Sector (PRS) regulations
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in particular, the exemptions cappinglandlord contributions which severely limit the scope and impact
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and set out a trajectory for tightening to EPC band Cby 2030. Risks to be addressed in 2018; longer-term framework in 2019 Strengthen new-build standards to ensure they are designed for a changing climate, are future-proofed for low-carbon heating and deliver high levels of energy efficiency.
Consultation in 2018 and standard announced in 2019 Strengthen compliance and enforcement framework so that it is outcomes-based, places risk with those able to control it, provides transparent information and a clear audit trail, with effective oversight and sanctions. First half of 2019 Set out concrete policies to deliver the ambition on non-residential buildings, and address existing policy risks including tightening non-domestic PRS regulations. 2018 Establish support framework for heat pumps and biomethane post-2021, as well as support for low-carbon technologies in heat networks. Re-balance subsidies for heat pumps and other capital-intensive technologies towards a capital grant, in line with international best practice. Decision on RHI successor in 2018
Industry
Make the ambition to improve business energy efficiency by 20% into specific, concrete and measurable policies with clear timings and outcomes, showing how the projected savings add up to 20% and any assumptions on fuel shares. Summer 2018 Confirm funding and start implementation of the Industrial Energy Efficiency Scheme. 2018 Publish (a) additional milestones on the timeline for the ‘framework to support industrial decarbonisation’, including for consulting on the framework (b) a call for evidence on the potential options for a mechanism to support investment in industrial decarbonisation. 2018
2018 Progress Report to Parliament |
Committee on Climate Change
Table 1.
Milestones for the coming year
Sector Action Timing
Set out plans for ensuring a continued carbon price in the UK, in the case that the UK leaves the EU ETS. Spring 2019
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
Publish the CCS Deployment Pathway, and the review of CCS delivery and investment models, consistent with having the first CCS cluster operational by 2026. Deployment Pathway by end of 2018
Transport
Clarify the UK regulatory approach to the EU 2020/21 new car and van CO
2
targets. First half of 2019 Set stretching CO
2
targets for new cars and vans beyond 2020, requiring a high electric vehicle market share. A real-world testing regime must be used alongside standardised tests. First half of 2019 Implement policies, including fiscal instruments, to strengthen incentives to purchase cleaner vehicles. Current purchasing trends are undermining new car and van emissions targets and must be reversed. 2018 Set stretching targets for CO
2
emissions reductions from new HGVs to address the rise in emissions and exploit opportunities to improve logistics and increase uptake of eco-driving. First half of 2019 Publish a plan to limit UK aviation emissions to the level assumed when the fifth carbon budget was set (i.e. around 2005 levels in 2050, implying around a 60% potential increase in demand), supported by strong international policies. First half of 2019
Agriculture
Replace voluntary industry-led framework, which has so far failed to meet emissions targets in England, Wales or Scotland, with a stronger framework to deliver GHG abatement to take effect from 2019. Early 2019 Allocate the £90m Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund to projects that deliver GHG emissions reduction in addition to Government's other stated objectives, demonstrating action prior to the introduction of a post-CAP framework. 2018 Set out in the 2018 Agriculture Bill a post-CAP framework that links financial support to agricultural emissions reduction and increased carbon sequestration, to take effect from 2022. 2018
Land use, land-use change and forestry
Act on the commitment to plant 11 million trees in England between 2017 and 2022 (equivalent to over 2,000 hectares per annum). Remove non-financial barriers to rapid afforestation. 2018
Waste
Set out in the new Waste and Resource Strategy a commitment to ban the landfilling of most bio-degradable waste streams including food by 2025 at the very latest. 2018
F-gases
Publish a plan to restrict the use of F-gases to the very limited uses where there are currently no viable alternatives. Spring 2019