Industry reacts to Paris verdict

The final agreement, adopted by all 196 nations on the weekend, will strive to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) Energy Centre described the global agreement as a “game changer” and said chemical engineers could become an important part of the solution.

Stefaan Simons, chairman of IChemE’s Energy Centre

According to the IChemE, the agreement highlights the need to start deploying existing technologies in order to meet the agreed emissions targets.

“The route map still remains unclear,” said Stefaan Simons, chairman of IChemE’s Energy Centre.

“Nuclear, CCS [Carbon Capture and Storage], renewables and energy storage remain in the mix, but in the absence of clear-cut technology pathways it is difficult to see how real progress on decarbonisation can be achieved,” said Simons, who presented at an official event during the Paris climate talks.

“We must redouble the R&D effort in order to understand the integrated low-carbon energy systems that are needed in a post fossil fuel era”.

The political conversation will continue but “chemical engineers can turn words into actions, with the development of workable National Climate Plans,” he said.

“Chemical engineering matters like never before.”

Carolyn Fairbairn, Confederation of British Industry director-general, said the deal heralded an exciting opportunity for business.

“We now have a climate deal agreed by the world’s leaders that puts us on a sustainable low-carbon path and which can provide the framework for business to invest with confidence.

“It will now be for governments to show how they plan to turn global ambition into national reality. Businesses will want to see domestic policies that demonstrate commitment to this goal and none more so than in the UK,” she said.

She added that the Government must provide a stable environment that enabled investment in cleaner, more affordable and more secure energy generation, including renewable technologies and new gas plants.

“As other nations start to play a greater role and increase their ambition, the UK needs a level playing field for carbon costs, so that our energy intensive industries can compete effectively in a global, low-carbon market place.”

Claire Jakobsson, EEF’s head of climate policy also welcomed the agreement as “the beginning of what is necessary to ensure a level playing field for UK manufacturing”.

However, she said targets and actions alone were not enough to prevent serious competitiveness impacts on the UK’s manufacturing, particularly for energy-intensive, trade-exposed industries such as steel. 

“Until such a time when comparable actions are being taken, we must continue to have strong measures in place to ensure that investment, jobs and emissions are not simply off-shored to the detriment of both the UK economy and the global environment. 

“There must also be a major focus on investing in innovative research and development for our UK industries to compete in an increasingly carbon constrained economy,” she said.

Most industry watchers agree that the key to success will be further investment in renewable energy technologies, while simultaneously improving the technology for distributing and storing energy.

The UK government recently withdrew £1bn funding for a competition to develop CCS, but carbon abatement technologies are also considered critical to many heavy industries if reduction targets are to be met.

At a recent press briefing, Drax Power Station chief executive Dorothy Thompson said it would be “very difficult” for the UK to meet agreed global targets without government support for CCS projects.

The company has also invested millions of pounds in recent years, converting three of its coal generation facilities to biomass to offer a cleaner, more renewable energy alternative.

“I think Drax is a really good example in terms of what can be achieved through carbon mitigation technology,” said Thompson.

“The big challenge in the energy sector is clarity on policy. If we have greater clarity on global objectives then we will have better clarity on what the objectives are for the UK.”

Thompson said Drax hoped to be a “voice at the table” when these objectives are agreed.

Other renewable energy companies have welcomed the Paris agreement, but now insist the government must put more weight behind renewable energy initiatives and technologies.

“This landmark agreement puts the world firmly on course to limiting dangerous climate change and Britain has proved it is willing to play its part,” said Maria McCaffery, RenewableUK’s chief executive.

“We hope that in the months to come we can see this accord translated into the necessary policies at home to achieve these goals, with Ministers returning from the talks fired up to put their weight fully behind the development of the UK’s plentiful renewable energy resources, including wind, wave and tidal power, without the Government seeking to exclude successful and cost-effective technologies such as onshore wind from our energy mix”. 

The UK government’s revised green gas strategy should also place anaerobic digestion (AD) at the heart of UK carbon abatement efforts, said Charlotte Morton, chief executive of the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ABDA).

“With the renewable heat incentive (RHI) budget commitment, AD can now deliver a third of the additional 20TWh renewable heat required by 2020 to meet the government’s 12% target,” she said.

“But this is only a fraction of the overall carbon abatement value that AD possesses – by reducing carbon emissions from alternative fossil fuel energy sources, rotting manures, landfilled food waste and artificial fertilisers, AD’s vital role in decarbonising electricity, heat, farming and transport alone could reduce the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions by 4%.”

“By acting now with renewed support under the feed-in tariff, government could reverse the collapse in investor certainty which will see deployment in additional AD electrical capacity beyond 2016 collapse to negligible levels.”