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| After a rapid expansion, new community energy projects are in retreat as Europe's governments focus their energies on other problems. Photograph: Solar Panels (License) (Cropped) |
Only a month ago, David Cameron, on the UK's behalf, signed the Paris Agreement (ITV, 2015). Those accords, however vague, nonetheless committed Britain and 199 other countries to the reduction of carbon emissions and to work towards a target of zero emissions (Vaughan, 2015).
However today, even as this weekend a senior UN official has praised the agreement for showing that the world can come together (Goldenberg, 2016), Cameron's government is promoting an Energy Bill that is leading the UK away from those goals.
The government's Energy Bill, in the Commons for its second reading, has been criticised for prioritising short term economic gains over the long term picture of sustainability (Lucas, 2016). The bill has been accused of encouraging the pursuit of coal and fossil fuels instead of leaving them in the ground and for failing to address fuel poverty - the scandal that as many as one in ten struggle to afford basic warmth.
That drive towards fossil fuels follows on the heels of cuts to subsidies for community green energy projects, which where allowed to lapse (Harvey & Vaughan, 2015; Vaughan, 2015{2}). Under the Coalition, the Liberal Democrats had encouraged these community projects (Davey, 2013). Their government research showed that community energy projects were sought out by the public to keep costs down, as well as fight climate change and to help in disadvantaged neighbourhoods - making a difference on many social and economic fronts.
These cuts to community energy subsidies and encouragement of fossil fuel recovery would seem to be a drastic change of direction for the government's public stance on energy. However, this disappointing shift in policy would not be the first. As has been pointed out elsewhere, the government had long been undermining its own commitment to clean energy (Monbiot, 2015; Monbiot, 2014), with a previous bill encouraging the maximization of exploitation of fossil fuel resources.
These cuts to community energy subsidies and encouragement of fossil fuel recovery would seem to be a drastic change of direction for the government's public stance on energy. However, this disappointing shift in policy would not be the first. As has been pointed out elsewhere, the government had long been undermining its own commitment to clean energy (Monbiot, 2015; Monbiot, 2014), with a previous bill encouraging the maximization of exploitation of fossil fuel resources.
At the time when is there a need not only for clean and sustainable energy but also for a way to take power over the energy we consume out of the hands of big energy companies and despotic states, to increase competition and reduce the cost of energy, support for decentralised clean community energy should be a priority.
Community utilities providers have a proven track record of success in Germany and the US (Thorpe, 2014; Heins, 2015). With community projects still taking their first steps in the UK and the municipal movement in Spain acting as an inspiration across Europe, now is the time to be encouraging communities to get engaged with civic life in pursuit of the common good.
References
'Cameron: Paris climate deal secures planet for generations to come'; on ITV News; 12 December 2015.
Adam Vaughan's 'Paris climate deal: key points at a glance - The goal of 1.5C is a big leap below the 2C agreed six years ago in Copenhagen. Here’s what the agreement means for global emissions and the future of the planet'; in The Guardian; 12 December 2015.
Suzanne Goldenberg's 'Paris climate deal offers flame of hope, says UN official: Christiana Figueres says countries cleared multiple hurdles to reach accord, showing that ‘if we want to do something we can’'; in The Guardian; 17 January 2016.
Caroline Lucas' 'Caroline Lucas: this Energy Bill proves Cameron’s husky-hugging days are long gone - "I’ve seen some shoddy Bills pass through Parliament—but this is one of the worst."'; in Prospect Magazine; 18 January 2016.
Fiona Harvey & Adam Vaughan's 'David Cameron urged to reconsider solar subsidy cuts following Paris climate deal: Critics say the PM should make no move to cut subsidies until he knows how it would affect the UK’s ability to meet its Paris accord obligations'; in The Guardian; 16 December 2015.
Adam Vaughan's 'Treasury tax plans will 'decimate' UK's community energy projects: More than 100 green groups warn that changes to tax relief on community solar and wind projects will be the ‘final nail in the coffin’ for their prospects'; in The Guardian; 5 November 2015.
Ed Davey's 'I want to see a community energy revolution in the UK: Research to find out why people are getting involved will help us deliver a strategy to unlock further potential'; in The Guardian; 6 June 2013.
George Monbiot's 'Grand promises of Paris climate deal undermined by squalid retrenchments: Until governments undertake to keep fossil fuels in the ground, they will continue to undermine agreement they have just made'; in The Guardian; 12 December 2015.
George Monbiot's 'The UK is making it a legal duty to maximise greenhouse gas emissions: Buried in the infrastructure bill is an astonishing contradiction on the UK's approach to oil and climate change'; in The Guardian; 26 June 2014.
Lorna Thorpe's 'Forum for the Future: leading an energy revolution - The Community Energy Coalition's influence has led to several policy wins'; in The Guardian; 15 May 2014.
Stephen Heins' 'With The Clean Power Plan, EPA Has Given Up On Cooperative Federalism'; in Forbes Magazine; 4 March 2015.
Jessica Shankleman of BusinessGreen's 'UK installed more solar power than any other European country in 2014: But solar trade body warns that installation rates across the continent have fallen sharply as governments cut subsidies, reports BusinessGreen'; in The Guardian; 28 April 2015.
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