Memorandum submitted by the Natural Environment
Research Council (NERC) (CIT 31)
1. The Natural Environment Research Council
(NERC) welcomes the opportunity to provide evidence.
2. NERC is one of the UK's eight Research
Councils. It funds and carries out impartial scientific research
in the sciences of the environment. NERC trains the next generation
of independent environmental scientists. Its priority research
areas are: Earth's life-support systems, climate change, and sustainable
economies.
3. NERC's research centres are: the British
Antarctic Survey (BAS), the British Geological Survey (BGS), the
Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) and the Proudman Oceanographic
Laboratory (POL). Details of these and of NERC's collaborative
centres are available at www.nerc.ac.uk.
4. NERC's comments draw on inputs from CEH,
the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and Swindon Office
staff. The Tyndall Centre has submitted evidence regarding Domestic
Tradable Quotas under separate cover.
GENERAL COMMENTS
5. NERC recognises the critical role to
be played by individuals, households and communities in trying
to meet the targets in the UK's Climate Change Programme, and
the role that scientists must play in ensuring that the general
public as well as policy makers are well informed about the science.
Where the public understanding of science is concerned, messages
about climate change should avoid visual or other suggestion that
if the UK alone became carbon neutral, the impacts of man-made
climate change would be avoided. However, unilateral initiatives
are likely to encourage more widespread international action,
and countries that take the lead in adopting low-carbon technologies
could find themselves benefiting from new export markets.
6. The Committee may be interested to refer
to the detail presented in the Tyndall Centre's report "Decarbonising
the UK: Energy for a Climate Conscious Future" published
in 2005 and available at www.tyndall.ac.uk/media/news/tyndall_decarbonising_the_uk.pdf.
Several of the points made in this submission derive from that
report, which presents five integrated scenarios for the UK energy
economy. All the scenarios achieve a 60% reduction in carbon emissions
and all assume moderate to high levels of economic growth, but
their energy consumption ranges from 90 (the Red scenario) to
330 (the Purple and Pink scenarios) million tonnes of oil equivalent
(Mtoe) (cf 170 Mtoe in 2005). Importantly, the scenarios include
international aviation and shipping, whose emissions are significant
and growing but excluded from the Government's 60% reduction target.
The Red scenario assumes low aviation growth, and is the only
scenario in which carbon emissions from aviation do not eventually
dwarf those from all other sectors.
7. Research funded through the Tyndall Centre
also led to the 2005 report "40% House" available at
www.eci.ox.ac.uk/pdfdownload/energy/40house/40house.pdf which
makes policy recommendations aimed at influencing building construction,
appliance manufacture, and the availability of information to
households about their energy consumption.
8. We are aware that the Committee will
be receiving evidence from Dr Dave Reay, NERC Fellow and author
of the book "Climate Change Begins at Home: Life on the Two
Way Street of Global Warming" (2005), which identifies many
of the actions that individuals can take to reduce carbon emissions.
RESPONSES TO
SPECIFIC QUESTIONS
Question 1 What is the real scope for individual
and local community action to contribute to tackling climate change?
Some areas for possible consideration include:
increasing energy efficiency, in particular the
delivery of the Energy Efficiency Commitment (EEC);
9. As stated in "Decarbonising the
UK", efficiency improvements could dramatically decarbonise
many sectors of the economy. These improvements could come through
relatively small increases in the incremental rate at which efficiency
"naturally" improves. The replacement of domestic appliances
with more efficient versions at the end of their useful life provides
one of the best opportunities for individuals to increase the
efficiency of their energy use. It also reduces the need for long-term
commitment to capital-intensive power supply plants, and spreads
the cost over millions of consumers. The best available equipment
and appliances on the market are often twice as efficient as the
typical product sold, allowing a 50% reduction in carbon emissions
to be easily achieved. Labels and customer goodwill should be
replaced with mandatory and incrementally-improving energy-efficiency
standards.
10. However, it is important that we do
not concentrate only on improving energy efficiency as a means
to reduce emissions. They will have to be managed also by managing
the demand for energy, and by decarbonising the source of energy.
There is more flexibility in the former than in the latter.
11. Managing demand means guiding economic
growth appropriately. As stated in "Decarbonising the UK",
"If the annual improvement in both the efficiency of energy
services and the thermodynamic efficiency of energy supply were
to continue at their historic rates, and assuming no increase
in demand, our current annual energy consumption would reduce
by more than 60% by 2050. In other words, at a simplistic level,
if it were not for economic growth, the government could achieve
its carbon reduction target without recourse to explicit carbon-mitigation
policies".
12. There is also some concern that improvements
in a device, eg better energy efficiency, may encourage its use
and increase overall consumption. The UK Energy Research Centre's
Technology and Policy Assessment unit is currently drafting a
report on this phenomenon (the rebound effect), due for publication
before the end of the year. Clearly, increases in the cost of
a unit of energy could counteract the rebound effect.
reducing energy consumption—not only electricity,
but also energy used in heating and transportation;
13. The Tyndall Red scenario achieves significant
energy demand reduction (at the same time as significant economic
growth) by a mix of market-mechanisms operating within a "joined-up"
and sophisticated regulatory environment, and by a high rate of
technological innovation in sustainable energy technologies.
14. The scenario includes:
— a decoupling of economic growth and
carbon emissions, through innovation in the demand and supply
technologies and operational approaches, driven by high levels
of investment in enabling technologies, in the alleviation of
fuel poverty and in low-carbon activities and services;
— the inclusion of external costs in
the pricing of goods and services;
— a large-scale shift towards public
transport, stimulated by the provision of a comprehensive public
transport infrastructure (in urban areas the planning framework
is used to prioritise public and other modes of transport such
as cycles over cars; new inter-urban transport networks are focused
on public, not private, transport) and by a reduction in the "attractiveness"
of the private car through policy measures such as personal use
charging, congestion charging and commuter plans;
— a curbing of growth in aviation,
reflecting a reduction in business travel as a consequence of
innovations in virtual technology and a reduction in short haul
flights driven by the availability and relative cost of quality
high-speed rail links within Europe;
— a 50% decrease in domestic energy
consumption achieved by regulating the energy consumption of appliances,
initially through standards applied across the supply chain and
ultimately through regulation of the energy consumption of domestic
appliances, and by improving the energy consumption of the housing
stock through increased information and ultimately through stringent
building energy standards which drive demolition and rebuild where
refurbishment is not possible;
— moderate decarbonisation of the supply
system through the implementation of carbon capture technology
linked to hydrogen production; and
— a drive towards a more diverse portfolio
of supply solutions, with innovation focused on step changes in
end-use technologies, such as fuel cells, needed for the use of
hydrogen as an energy carrier.
15. A low-carbon future would not necessarily
preclude an increase in personal mobility. The scenarios show
that substantial increases in the number of passenger-km travelled,
both nationally and internationally, could be compatible with
the UK's 60% emissions reduction target. However, a higher target
would probably curtail the rate of growth in personal mobility
as well as the choice of transport modes and fuels.
the provision of desirable low carbon alternatives,
such as energy saving light bulbs or using public transport;
16. In the short-term—the next 10-15
years—personal carbon dioxide savings at home and in lifestyle
are probably the only area where significant reductions in UK
carbon dioxide can be made. Changing an energy structure or transforming
to market technologies not yet widely available is a longer-term
strategy which also requires action now. As indicated above, appropriate
regulation could achieve a significant shift to public transport,
and better energy efficiency standards for appliances should be
made mandatory.
17. Information about technologies should
help policy makers to develop appropriate regulation and/or influence
pricing to achieve appropriate choice.
18. Because slightly more energy is consumed
in the manufacture of low-energy light bulbs than in the manufacture
of traditional bulbs (more glass and complex shapes), there may
be a case for using traditional bulbs in rooms where light is
needed only for short, infrequent periods until those bulbs fail,
rather than replacing them immediately with low-energy bulbs.
However, conventional bulbs require so much more energy to achieve
equivalent brightness than do low-energy compact fluorescent bulbs
(which also last much longer), that the question should be asked,
why are conventional bulbs still available?
the potential for, and barriers to, micro-generation;
19. Environmental science has an important
role to play in identifying the scope for micro-generation, eg
the capacity of the environment to support different devices (micro-turbines,
low-head hydro, ground-source heat pumps, solar panels, local
biomass schemes etc). The collection of data on the performance
of such devices could be improved, in particular to improve predictions
and the availability of information to individuals considering
an installation.
the potential for "smart metering";
20. Technology in this area is evolving
and could help individuals to analyse and reduce their household
energy demand.
awareness of climate change and availability of
information about the role of the individual in tackling the problem.
21. NERC welcomes the Government's "Communicating
Climate Change" initiative, and the increase in the provision
of information on climate change at local-government level. There
are also an increasing number of websites about climate change,
including Dave Reay's on the science of climate change at: www.ghgonline.org
and the international benchmark www.realclimate.org.
22. It is not easy to persuade individuals
that their actions, eg changes in lifestyle, are either necessary
or likely to make a difference. It is therefore particularly important
that policies take into account the costs and impacts of different
options, as revealed by full life cycle analysis, for example,
and that these are explained to individuals. This is probably
nowhere more important than in the context of aviation, whose
growth accounts for a sizable proportion of the public's contribution
to carbon dioxide emissions.
Question 2 What are the barriers to uptake
of climate change mitigation strategies at the level of the individual,
and how can they be overcome? Are current incentives such as the
energy efficiency commitment or graduated vehicle excise duty
sufficiently strong to affect behaviour?
23. As indicated above, individuals may
not be convinced of the need to take action, or of the value of
doing so. Information and education are crucial. Natural resistance
to change makes it particularly important to explain the implications
of changing nothing. And individuals may need better feedback
on the cumulative impact of their own and others' small actions.
The trend towards community approaches to tackling climate change
could increase motivation.
24. Price is another barrier. While choice
remains in the appliance market, it is likely that poorer people
will continue to buy less expensive, less efficient fridges and
similar goods, even though the energy used will cost them more
in the long term. On the other hand, in the car market, those
who can afford to run less efficient vehicles seem not to be deterred
by the relatively small difference in vehicle excise duty. The
implementation of mandatory efficiency standards for white goods
as well as cars, combined with the natural turnover of such goods
based on their expected life, could see a marked reduction in
emissions within about a decade.
Question 3 How can Government and other agencies—at
national, regional and local levels—encourage the uptake
of domestic emission reduction measures? What is the role of community
projects in schools and other public institutions?
25. For an organisation such as NERC, providing
information to the public in a form that they can understand is
a high priority. The public needs to be reassured that government
policies, and the actions that individuals are being asked to
take, are based on sound science.
Question 4—What is the role of NGOs in delivering
the "citizen's agenda" on climate change?
26. NERC sees a role for NGOs in channelling
information to policy makers and the public. It therefore welcomes
opportunities to work with NGOs to meet their information needs,
to ensure that campaigns, and thus government policies and individual
actions, are based on sound science. At the same time, it is important
that independent research organisations such as NERC and its research
centres maintain their objectivity and an appropriate distance
from campaigning or party-political organisations.
Question 5—Are Domestic Tradable Quotas
(also known as personal carbon allowances) a viable option? What
other economic and other incentives for behavioural change might
also be considered?
27. Pioneered by David Fleming and then
the Tyndall Centre, Domestic Tradable Quotas are analysed by Richard
Starkey of the Tyndall Centre in a separate submission. The UK
Energy Research Centre, which refers to DTQs as Personal Carbon
Allowances, is also submitting comments.
Natural Environment Research Council
September 2006
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