The government has acknowledged that UK businesses need more support to decarbonise and has pledged to bring forward a range of policies in the forthcoming national carbon emissions plan.
Earlier today the government came under criticism from the Committee on Climate Change which argued that a widening policy gap meant it unlikely that the country would meet looming emission reductions targets.
In its response, published later this morning, the government said that it knew more was needed to meet its targets from the early 2020s onwards and insisted more detail would be forthcoming in its emissions reduction plan.
“We recognise the emissions reduction plan will form an important signal to the markets, businesses and investors. We want to invest the time now to undertake critical preparatory work to ensure we get this right. This includes engaging across businesses, industry and other stakeholders on the shared challenge of moving to a low carbon economy,” the response said.
The plan was originally due to be published before the end of this year but now looks all but certain to be pushed back until early 2017, with most government work severely delayed as a result of the Brexit referendum.
While that emissions plan will hold the bulk of the detail, government did provide some subtle hints as to where policy support could be put into place, particularly in energy efficiency and renewable heat.
The government’s response says that it is “currently considering what more we can do in the business energy area” and referenced how the formation of the new department would help by bringing the energy sector in line with wider industrial strategy.
Central to this will be the development of a “stronger evidence base” regarding emissions from businesses and public buildings, which the government said it was currently working on.
Reforms of the Renewable Heat Incentive are still to be decided upon following a consultation which closed in April this year, and today’s response suggested that a wider overhaul could be in development, particularly to address “key barriers to deployment”. The government will also look to rollout new policies to support SMEs installing low-carbon heating networks.
Government too confirmed that it was currently considering policy approaches to decarbonise heavy industry while not impacting on its competitiveness, particularly in relation to its 2050 Industrial Decarbonisation and Energy Efficiency Roadmaps.
