Pitfalls and opportunities on road to low carbon economy
16 Jul 2009
The strategy, which aims to reduce carbon emissions by 34% by 2020, is focused on an expansion of the renewable energy sector - particularly wave and tidal power; civil nuclear power; offshore wind - as well as the creation of so-called 'green jobs' in these industries.
The strategy also sets out the first investments from the £405 million for low carbon industries and advanced green manufacturing announced in Budget 2009. Key investments include:
• Up to £60 million to capitalise on Britain’s wave and tidal sector strengths, including investment in Wave Hub – the development of a significant demonstration and testing facility off the Cornish coast – and other funding to make the South West Britain’s first Low Carbon Economic Area.
• Up to £15 million capital investment in order to establish a Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre consisting of a consortium of manufacturers from the UK nuclear supply chain and universities.
• A £4-million expansion of the Manufacturing Advisory Service, to provide more specialist advice to manufacturers on competing for low carbon opportunities, including support for suppliers for the civil nuclear industry.
• Up to £120 million to support the development of a British-based offshore wind industry.
The strategy also recognises that there are challenges for the workforce particularly for those in high carbon industries. The Government will create a new Forum for a Just Transition to advise on how to address the issues, with representatives from Central Government, national, local and regional bodies, trade unions, business organisations, and third sector bodies.
Announcing the strategy, UK business secretary Peter Mandelson said: “There is no high carbon future. But if the transition to low carbon is inevitable, what is not inevitable is that we use the transition as a chance to develop new jobs, new industries here in Britain.
"We must ensure that we equip businesses and the workforce with the capabilities and skills to take advantage of the potential benefits as the world moves towards a low carbon future.”
While welcoming the report, Steve Elliott, chief executive of the Chemical Industries Association said the industry was concerned that the Government's proposals for decarbonising electricity generation would increase energy costs, threaten energy security and risk of carbon leakage from energy intensive solution providers like chemicals.
"The Government must rebalance its proposals with a greater emphasis on clean coal and new nuclear to reduce any over-reliance on imported natural gas and expensive and unreliable wind power," said Elliot.
"However, in order to pay for new low carbon supplies, a significant increase in energy prices is still inevitable. It is therefore important for the greening of the economy that Government also considers ways of reducing the impact of carbon and renewable incentives on the costs of energy intensive solution providers."
For its part, the Engineering and Technology Board (ETB) emphasised the scale of the challenge facing UK industry and the need for engineering skills to achieve the UK’s low carbon future.
Nuclear power alone, noted ETB, will require 11,500 new entrants into the workforce by 2015, rising to 16,500 depending on retirement rates. There is also a significant skills demand in the renewables sector, said ETB, citing figures for the skills demand of solar energy at 170,419, photovoltaic power at 84,612 and combined heat and power at 147,913.
Many of these jobs will be at engineering technician level and will need to be supplied by a long-term strategy for further education, said ETB. Business, it added, will require reassurance that any investments made in renewable energy technology and plant will not be rendered redundant by successive changes in policy direction.
Paul Jackson, chief executive of the ETB said: “These announcements include some ambitious figures for reductions in carbon emissions. In order to achieve these we will need more skilled engineers with the relevant skills and further investment in green technology. It is important to recognise the need for consistency and stability in this crucial policy area to secure the future of the UK energy supply and to meet the Government’s targets.”
Meanwhile, Graham Hillier, low carbon energy director at the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) commented that If the UK is to be successful in developing new technologies and gaining value from them it must support the sector that links between research in the University and the market.
"We must stimulate market-led innovation, bringing together market ‘pull’ from industry with technology ‘push’ from academia, to address the real needs of industry in the 21st Century. This is where CPI is, but the UK needs to support these more strongly," said Hillier.
The Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE), in its response to the Government’s Low Carbon Transition Plan, which represents the engineering consultancies that will be driving the delivery of low carbon developments, has expressed disappointment at the continued disagreements over the way forward on climate change. Of particular concern, it said, is the dispute between key stakeholders such as the CBI and the Green Party over the relative merits of nuclear power and wind generation.
“The question is not whether we should have either nuclear or wind – those issues have already been addressed. What is important is that sufficient investment is delivered in the right mix of generation. This should be based on objective evidence, drawing on the best expertise in the scientific and engineering communities,” said Nelson Ogunshakin, chief executive of ACE .
Alex Tosetti, chair of ACE’s Sustainability Sector Interest Group, added: “The engineering industry welcomes these announcements – after all, engineers are spearheading the fight against climate change. The targets announced in the Transition Plan are ambitious but attainable, particularly in terms of renewable energy.
“There is no time to lose in implementing these initiatives, and the Government must make good on its promises of serious investment. These plans must translate into timely delivery.”
