Utility Week

4 | 8TH - 14TH NOVEMBER 2019 | UTILITY WEEK Seven days... Corbyn promises £250bn green upgrade to UK homes Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has promised to upgrade every UK home with energy-saving measures to tackle the climate crisis, the larg- est upgrade to UK housing since the Second World War. He said he wanted to oversee a £250 billion project named "Warm Homes for All", which would install lo„ insulation, double glazing and green technology in almost all of the country's 27 million homes by 2030. The Independent Boris Johnson to ban fracking Boris Johnson's government is to abandon the Conservatives' decade-long policy of support- ing fracking as the party seeks to neutralise Labour attacks on its environmental record. Fracking for shale gas is to be banned in Britain with immediate effect because of the "unaccepta- ble" risk of earthquakes. The move comes a„er a review found it impos- sible to predict the probability or scale of earthquakes. The Times 1,700 spills put swimmers at risk Beaches in England and Wales were polluted by more than 1,700 spills of sewage over the summer, exposing swimmers to the risk of infection and illness, a new report reveals. At one point during one of the wettest summers on record, swim- mers were advised to avoid more than 50 beaches because of sewage discharges. Surfers Against Sewage calcu- lates that swimmers were advised not to go into the sea for one in 10 of the available bathing days at 265 beaches that can be affected by sewage — more than half the beaches in England and Wales. The Times In the media Treasury launches review to plan net zero roadmap T he Treasury has announced the launch of a net zero review to determine how to end the UK's contribution to climate change while maximising the opportuni- ties for economic growth. The department said a top priority for the review will be to protect low-income households and ensure the costs of decar- bonisation are fairly spread across society. Chancellor Sajid Javid said: "This review is a vital next step in delivering [our net zero] com- mitment, ensuring that we can end our contribution to global warming, while supporting growth and balancing costs, to avoid placing unfair burdens on families or businesses." The review will also consider how to prevent emissions from being exported to other coun- tries. A final report will be pub- lished in autumn 2020, shortly before the UK hosts to the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. Simon Clarke, exchequer secretary to the Treasury, said: "I have championed the environ- ment throughout my life and political career so it's humbling to launch this unprecedented review into how we end the UK's contribution to climate change. "Until recently people said that net zero was impossible, but this work is a giant step towards making it happen, enabling us to set out a roadmap for an economy that is cleaner, more efficient, and works for everyone, while preserving our planet." Steve Shine, executive chair- man of renewable developer Anesco, commented: "We wel- come the news that the govern- ment is looking at how best to accelerate and deliver the target of net zero. However, without a clear strategy and, importantly, accountability, we will not meet the original clean growth targets – let alone net zero. "In the past year we have only seen around a 2.5 per cent increase in renewables and the reality is we are not doing enough." He said that removing fossil fuels from generation would require even more renewables and "at the present rate of growth, it's simply not going to happen". TG "If we don't make progress on CCUS now, we will be really limiting our options." David Joffe, head of carbon budgets at the UK Committee on Climate Change, says the UK must make progress on carbon capture, use and storage if it is to realise the 2050 net zero target. STORY BY NUMBERS Boost for Scots wind capacity A new body, the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council, has been launched with the aim of increas- ing offshore wind capacity in Scotland. 5 Number of key goals the council has set itself. 8GW Target for new offshore capacity by 2030. 5.2m Number of households whose electricity demands this is enough to meet. 2045 Scotland's target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions to net zero. 6,000 Council's target for offshore wind jobs in Scotland (an increase of 75 per cent on 2019). Photo: EDF

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