U.K. Plans 'Ambitious' 50% Cut in Greenhouse Gases by 2027 - San Francisco Chronicle

(Adds comment from EU in eighth paragraph.)

May 17 (Bloomberg) -- The U.K. government said it plans to cut in half its greenhouse gas emissions by 2027, a step beyond European Union pledges that already are among the most ambitious in the industrialized world.

In its fourth "carbon budget," Britain aims to limit emissions of carbon dioxide to 1,950 million tons for the five years from 2023 through 2027 from 1990, Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne told Parliament in London today. The EU has promised a 20 percent reduction by 2020.

"Our fourth carbon budget places the U.K. at the leading edge of the global low-carbon industrial revolution," Huhne said. "We're sending a clear signal to the international community that the U.K. is committed to a low-carbon economy."

The decision, endorsing a recommendation made six months ago by an advisory panel, set Prime Minister David Cameron's government on a collision course with manufacturers that say the limits will hurt the economy. Cameron is depending on replacing a generation of aging nuclear power plants with new reactors and expanding renewable energy forms to meet the goals.

"This is a bad decision for manufacturing," Terry Scuoler, chief executive of EEF, the Manufacturers' Association, said in an e-mailed statement. "The government must move quickly to address the competitiveness concerns faced across manufacturing as well as energy-intensive industries."

Huhne said the "ambitious but achievable" targets will be reviewed in 2014 to make sure they are in line with those of fellow EU members. He said proposals for a package of measures will be announced by the end of the year to help energy- intensive industries remain competitive.

Victory for Huhne

The carbon budget is a victory for Huhne, who pushed for the goals in the face of opposition from Business Secretary Vince Cable, a fellow Liberal Democrat. Britain was the first country to enshrine in law commitments to cut pollution by 2050. The cuts will come as the Conservative-led coalition is paring state-run services to eliminate a budget deficit by 2015, the deadline for the next election.

"This is an outstanding example of strong willingness to act despite difficult economic times," said EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard. "With this decision, the U.K. seizes a huge economic and innovation opportunity that will make its economy more competitive in the future"

Green Jobs

Huhne said the clean energy industry is supporting 910,000 jobs and that countries that invest first in the business will benefit most.

The opposition Labour Party's spokeswoman on energy and climate change, Meg Hillier, said she "welcomed" today's announcement and that there's a concensus across parties about the scale of the cuts.

The Climate Change Act that took effect in 2008 requires the nation to cut its fossil-fuel emissions 34 percent from 1990 levels by 2020 and 80 percent by the middle of this century. The first reductions will come as Cameron clamps down on government spending to eliminate the deficit in time for the deadline for the next election, due in 2015.

While Huhne had recommended the government adopt the committee's advice, Cable said in an April 19 letter to Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne that he had "a number of concerns" about supporting the target of 1,950 megatons because assessments showed it "may not be technically feasible within the U.K. domestically."

Cable's Concerns

"Agreeing too aggressive a level risks burdening the U.K. economy with extra costs which would be detrimental," Cable wrote in the letter published May 10 on the Financial Times's Westminster blog.

A spokeswoman for Cable's department, who declined to be named as per government policy, said she couldn't confirm whether the letter is genuine. She said Cable is committed to reducing emissions while at the same time raising the concerns of energy-intensive businesses to other government ministers.

Huhne said the government aims to meet the targets domestically, while reserving the right to uise international offset credits.

Today's carbon budget -- which translates to 390 million tons a year during the mid-2020s, follows earlier reductions set for the years 2008-2012, 2013-2017 and 2018-2022. All are measured against the 780 million tons of greenhouse gas pollution the U.K. emitted in 1990, the base year for the emissions-limiting Kyoto Protocol Treaty.

--With assistance from Reed Landberg in London. Editors: Randall Hackley, Reed Landberg