‘Major pilot project to investigate ways of tackling rural fuel poverty’

24 DASH – 09/12/09

The Commission for Rural Communities, in partnership with the Rural Services Network, has launched a new pilot project – ‘Hands Up’ – to investigate ways of tackling fuel poverty in rural areas, focusing on three areas of the country – County Durham, East Riding and Shropshire. These areas have been selected on the basis of statistical data indicating high levels of fuel poverty, a number of properties off the gas network and ‘hard to heat’ houses. The project aims to facilitate a better understanding of the effect of high fuel costs on health, financial and overall well-being of people living in rural areas, and also of what impact this is having on service providers such as the NHS and the local economy. The pilot will involve around 7500 households being asked to provide information about their health and financial well-being, what type of fuel they use to heat their home and what concerns they have in relation to affordability or health issues. Read the article… 

The BBC has also designated a map published by the Commission for Rural Communities as its map of the week, which shows how isolated communities in England are particularly suffering from fuel poverty. Rural communities tend to experience much higher levels of fuel poverty than those living in urban areas, to some extent as a result of the limited availability of mains gas in these areas. View the map…

‘Climate change report calls for passenger tax on flights to reduce CO2′

THE GUARDIAN – 08/12/09

The Committee on Climate Change has released a report emphasising that heavy taxes on passengers and a ban on expansion at regional airports will be needed to curb air travel in the UK. The report suggests that ministers must consider measures such as: a carbon tax on passengers; limits on runway expansion; and restrictions on flights at existing airports. It highlights that passenger growth will need to be limited to 60% over the next four decades, compared with an increase of 130% since 1990. Despite these recommendations, however, the report does make a theoretical case for a third runway at Heathrow, suggesting that an expanded Heathrow could handle a further 68 million passengers a year by 2030 – more than double the current demand of 67 million a year – and still fit within the committee’s growth projections (provided expansion at other airports is curbed). Read the article…

A subsequent article in the Guardian goes into more detail about the report, flagging up its key message that it’s time for a rethink on existing aviation policy. In particular it highlights the point that the non-CO2 impacts of aircraft are currently being left out of calculations and that current best-guesses put these extra warming impacts at least roughly equal to the CO2 impact, thereby making any further expansion at Britain’s airports look increasingly untenable.

Read the report… 

‘Can electric cars attract the attention of drivers?’

THE BBC – 04/12/09

This article explores the factors underlying the rise in use of green cars; that is cars powered by alternative fuel sources. It suggests this trend may result from the introduction of legislation and higher taxes to penalise drivers of gas guzzling vehicles, and that an additional factor could be the rise in the range of available eco-friendly cars. These include hybrid cars which have a combination of petrol engines and electric motors, fully battery-powered electric vehicles, and a handful of experimental designs e.g. cars running on algae. Read the article…

‘Airport operators call on the Government to drop new tax’

THE TELEGRAPH – 05/12/09

This article discusses responses to the findings of new research undertaken by Oxera Consultants, which indicate that the airline industry will exceed payment of its environmental costs by up to £1.1 billion in 2012. The Airport Operators Association is therefore calling for the government to abandon its plan to increase Air Passenger Duty (APD) next year and to scrap the tax in 2012, arguing that it cannot be justified on environmental grounds given that the airline industry is already paying for more than the environmental damage it causes. There are fears that the APD rises will place the British aviation industry at a disadvantage in comparison to its European competitors, and that it will have negative implications for inbound tourism in the run-up to the Olympics in 2012. The Government is also facing criticism for not applying the tax to either private jets or cargo planes. Read the article…

‘Who cares? Don’t count on public opinion to support mitigation’

THE ECONOMIST – 03/01/09

This article draws on public opinion polls conducted in America to highlight that support for carbon mitigation policies is influenced by three key factors. The first is price sensitivity; in a poll in August, 58% respondents said they would support a cap-and-trade system that increased monthly electricity bills by $10, but this dropped to 39% for an increase of $25. Secondly, there seems to be a distinct lack of awareness and understanding about cap-and-trade policies and what these would entail; 55% of respondents in October’s Pew poll had never heard of cap-and-trade. Thirdly, scepticism seems to be on the rise, with the Pew poll showing a fall in the proportion of Americans that believe there is solid evidence of rising temperatures, from 71% in April 2008 to 57% in October 2009. The proportion of respondents blaming rising temperatures on human activity also fell by 11% over that period. Polls elsewhere – e.g. in the EU and Australia – have also shown shifts in attitudes, possibly as a result of recession. A poll published by the European Commission, for example, showed a fall in the number of EU citizens who saw climate change as the world’s gravest problem from 62% in spring 2008 to 50% in July 2009. Read the article…

‘Stopping climate change’

THE ECONOMIST – 03/12/09

This article discusses the negotiations that need to happen in Copenhagen and, in particular, emphasises that reaching an international agreement at Copenhagen is only the first step to emissions cuts. It highlights that national targets need to be implemented through domestic policies which encourage businesses to invest in clean products and processes, and discourage them from investing in carbon-intensive products and processes. The article suggests that a good policy framework would include some regulation in areas where the market doesn’t work well, a degree of subsidy for research into technologies that are still far from marketable (e.g. carbon capture and storage), but that it would need to rely largely on putting a price on carbon in order to send a clear signal to business. Read the article… 

Another article (http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displayStory.cfm?story_id=14994818&subjectID=348924&fsrc=nwl) explores the advantages and disadvantages of regulation, carbon-pricing and subsidies in more detail, highlighting that governments generally like regulation, economists like carbon prices (when set at the right level), and business like subsidies.

‘Report warns of fuel poverty threat’

IRISH TIMES – 03/12/09

An annual report published by the Institute of Public Health in Ireland urges the Irish government not to make any adjustments in the budget that would make it harder for people to keep their homes warm. The institute monitors the extent of fuel poverty and said there had been ‘considerable’ improvement in energy efficiency in the residential sector this year, but that progress could be faster, better targeted, and that greater commitment is needed to improving energy efficiency standards in rental accommodation. Such measures are particularly important in light of continued rises in unemployment and dependency on welfare. Read the article…

A subsequent article highlights that, whilst overall fuel poverty rates have increased, there are lower rates amongst older people, which likely reflects the extent to which senior citizens have been effectively targeted through fuel poverty strategies, or may reflect the reluctance of senior citizens to declare an inability to afford warmth.

‘Japan official: ‘Green tax’ needed on fossil fuels’

USA TODAY – 02/12/09

Japan’s environment minister, Sakihito Ozawa, has emphasised that Japan needs a green tax on fossil fuels in order to provide financial incentives to counter global warming and internalise carbon emissions as a cost in the economy. It is thought the tax, which would apply to all fossil fuels, could bring in $23.3 billion annually. The tax on coal would rise to 3.4 yen per kg from 0.7 yen, while the tax on electricity would increase to 1.04 yen per kilowatt hour from the current 0.52 yen. The tax on kerosene would more than double to 4.82 yen per litre, but the rate on gasoline would drop to 50.84 yen per litre from 55.85 yen. Read the article…

‘Project to combat fuel poverty runs out of money’

THE GUARDIAN – 02/12/09

This article highlights warnings by Eaga, the company that runs the government’s Warm Front programme, that householders who have applied for help through the scheme may have to wait up to six months as funding for the programme has been outstripped by demand. Approximately 32,000 households are currently on the waiting list, yet funding for the programme has been halved for next year. A spokesperson for Eaga said they are ‘proactively communicating with all customers who may be impacted by this to ensure that they are aware of the situation’. Read the article…

‘First ‘affordable’ eco-home opens’

THE BBC – 01/12/09

‘The Aurora’, a prototype house built by Dawn Homes in Scotland, has the potential to generate more electricity than it consumes, and aims to show that low-energy homes can be designed for the mass market. It uses heat recovery systems, insulation and pumps which draw thermal energy from the earth beneath the house, thereby eliminating the need for gas central heating and reducing the dependence of homeowners on expensive fossil fuels. Read the article…