Abby L. Harvey
GHG Monitor
9/5/2014
The United Kingdom’s Liberal Democrat party is looking to enact a ban on electricity production from unabated coal as one of five “green laws” to be included in the party’s manifesto, according to information released this week. Key measures of the “Zero Carbon Britain Bill” would include “introducing a decarbonization target for electricity generation, expanding the powers of the Green Investment Bank and banning electricity generated from unabated coal,” according to a release the Liberal Democrat party issued early this week. In a statement issued with the release, Ed Davey, U.K. Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, and Liberal Democrat party member, said, “Liberal Democrats see our duty to protect our environment for future generations as a central political and moral challenge. This is not something we can, or should, try and sidestep. In this Parliament, we’ve made a big step forward particularly on green energy, but other areas have not seen such progress. So we want to use the next Parliament to make a major leap forward on the environmental agenda across the board.” Roughly 30 percent of the U.K.’s energy generation comes from coal-fired power plants, none of which have carbon capture and storage technology installed. Recently efforts have been made to move forward two CCS projects in the country, White Rose and Peterhead.
The other “green laws” to be included in the party’s collection of campaign promises deal with a variety of issues. The “Nature Bill,” would set “legal targets for biodiversity, clean air, clean water and access to green space, extending the Right to Roam and establishing new marine and coastal reserves.” The “Heating and Energy Efficiency Bill” includes measures to develop a national program to raise energy efficiency standards for homes. The “Zero Waste Britain Bill” would establish a “’Stern Report’ on resource use, with binding targets and a clear action plan to reduce waste and end biodegradable landfill.” Last, the “Green Transport Bill” would establish “a full network of charging points for electric cars, only allowing low emission vehicles on the roads from 2040 and reforming planning law to ensure new developments are designed around walking, cycling and public transport.”
The Liberal Democrat manifesto was due to be released in a draft form earlier this week but the party chose to delay publication. The document to be released is a “pre-manifesto,” which is subject to comment and change prior to the party issuing a final manifesto for the upcoming May 2015 election. “Between now and next May, the Liberal Democrats will be putting forward these new green ideas and asking people for their views so we can finalize them for our General Election manifesto,” Davey said.
