7 The Green Agenda
191. During the course of our inquiry it became
clear that both industries felt that they were burdened by a "non-green
image", which they believed, put them at odds with government
policy. In particular, they were concerned that this public perception
placed them at a disadvantage when they applied for research funding
and other forms of support. For example, Dr Williams, Head of
Business Development, Research & Technology at Airbus told
us:
aerospace contributes 2% of CO2 emissions
and yet if you read the newspapers or listen to the radio you
would think it produced 98% and not 2%.[269]
Similarly at Silverstone we heard that the environmentally
unfriendly image of motorsport was causing car manufacturers to
pull out from the sport and to turn attention away from high performance
vehicles. This had affected the availability of funding for research
and development activity.[270]
This was a point reiterated by the MIA:
Motorsport has pioneered rapid development of energy-efficient
and clean-burn engines, alternative fuels and power sources. [However]
BIS-sponsored organisations such as the Technology Strategy Board
(TSB), Low Carbon initiatives and the New Automotive Innovation
and Growth Team (NAIGT) have failed to adequately engage with
the UK motorsport industry or its trade association. [271]
192. We believe that this image owes much to
the "Top Gear effect" with people associating
motorsport with an image of "reckless petrol-heads",
personified by Jeremy Clarkson, wasting gallons of fuel with no
thought or concern about the impact it has on the planet. This
is unfortunate because not only are both industries engaged in
many activities to improve their energy efficiency and reduce
their environmental impact, in many cases this work is actively
supported by the Government. When we asked the Minister about
this, he said that while he acknowledged the industries had a
presentational challenge he was in no doubt about their commitment
to addressing environmental issues:
I have been hugely impressed […] at the seriousness
that the aerospace industry applies to the issue of emissions
and environmental drivers, and really one of the great intellectual
disciplines that exists both in the aerospace sector and the motorsport
sector visit […] is that they look at energy efficiency and
they look at low-carbon issues the whole time, and that is one
of the major drivers that they have.[272]
193. The Minister and his officials strongly
denied environmental issues had affected government support for
the industries. In its memorandum the Department stated:
UK motorsport has become a breeding ground for 'environmentally
friendly' technology; particularly energy efficiency and bio fuel
development, as well as super light materials innovation. […]
While its contribution to the development of green technology
is therefore considerable, it is important that the industry continues
to improve its position internationally and further involve itself
with similar collaborative projects in the future.[273]
194. Simon Carter, Business Relationship Manager,
AMI Automotive Unit at the Department highlighted the fact that
motorsport companies were eligible for funding through the Technology
Strategy Board Low Carbon Programmes and that there were also
programmes under the Energy Efficiency scheme to support in the
take-up of bio-diesel, ethanol and other fuel efficient programmes.
He concluded that "a considerable amount has been done; it
is just not shouted about and it is not always recognised."[274]
195. This work has not been confined to the motorsport
sector, the National Aerospace Technology Strategy (NATS) recognises
the importance for the UK of the development of new technologies
to help meet these targets, and a number of organisations have
been established to take this work forward. These include:
- OMEGA (Opportunities for Meeting
the Environmental Challenge of Growth in Aviation) is a publicly-funded
partnership of nine UK universities that works with the aviation
industry to improve understanding of aviation's environmental
effects and propose effective and sustainable solutions. The OMEGA
programme consists of forty studies and events which address all
aspects of the environmental challenge including technology, alternative
fuels, policy and economic instruments.[275]
- Greener by Design (GBD) was
formed in 1999 by the Airport Operators Association, the British
Air Transport Association, the Royal Aeronautical Society and
the Society of British Aerospace Companies (now A|D|S). It brings
together experts from all parts of the aviation industry with
government bodies and research institutions to seek practical
solutions, which are environmentally and economically sustainable,
to the challenge posed by aviation's impact on the environment.
GBD disseminates technology advice, as well as operational, economic
and regulatory advice, about limiting aviation's environmental
impact. GBD aims to promote a balanced understanding of aviation's
true environmental impact and its environmental programmes.[276]
- The UK's Sustainable Aviation (SA) initiative
is a 20-year sustainability strategy (launched in 2005) that brings
together the four key sectors of the aviation industry—aerospace
manufacturers, airlines, airports and air traffic management providers.
Through its integrated approach, SA ensures that the efforts of
these individual sectors are aligned and that improvements in
areas like technology, operations and air traffic management can
be fully integrated and exploited.[277]
- Rolls-Royce have also been successful in winning
government funding of £45 million on low carbon aero-engine
research from the Low Carbon Strategic Investment Fund.[278]
196. Dr Williams also highlighted the amount
of work being done by industry to improve its environmental record:
[…] if you looked at the research and technology
into improving that performance, certainly Airbus's efforts towards
achieving the [...] goals of 50% reduction in CO2 and
80% reduction in NOx [nitrous oxides] and 50% reduction
in noise, you could be forgiven for thinking in fact that all
the research and technology effort to improve the environment
was only happening in the aerospace sector.[279]
197. While we welcome the efforts by industry
to reduce their carbon emissions we are slightly concerned by
the sheer number of different organisations and programmes working
in this area. When we asked if so many separate initiatives were
needed Mr Godden, from A|D|S, told us that he believed that there
were benefits to be gained from bringing together a number of
the existing programmes: "We should be putting those together
and raising our game by doing so."[280]
The Minister expressed a willingness to look at the range of existing
programmes and said that while he was not "entirely clear
about the different mechanisms"[281]
he believed this should be reviewed.
It is obviously a very complex area, aerospace, because
of the international obligations that exist, and it does mean
that we have to combine both domestic pressures with the international
obligations that we have, so it is often very difficult to create
a simplified system. If there is anything that we can do to try
to make that easier for the industry as a whole then we will certainly
try.[282]
198. In addition to financial support for "green"
research the Government has also been considering the potential
for using motorsport to challenge people's perception of environmental
issues. In a speech he gave to the European Cleaner Racing Conference,
Lord Drayson said:
Motorsport can lend the necessary street cred to
going green. You represent the best possible response to Top
Gear ridicule—to move the low-carbon story away from
lentils, sandals and self-sacrifice.[283]
Industry is also aware of this potential benefit.
Mr Aylett told us:
Winning in motorsport actually makes energy efficiency
cool. If you can win Le Mans in an energy efficient manner, as
Audi did, you will definitely do so.
199. Both motorsport and aerospace
are engaged in a plethora of initiatives aimed at improving their
environmental record and "greening" their technologies.
However, both industries remain of the view that Government does
not fully recognise these initiatives. Government and the industries
need to co-operate fully to better articulate the "green"
initiatives currently under development in motorsport and aerospace.
200. We also agree with the
Government that motorsport has the potential to shift the debate
about carbon emissions away from a dry conversation about carbon
budgets, towards a more valuable debate on the role that technology
and innovation can play in addressing climate change and green
issues. We welcome the fact the Government is considering this
as an area of action.
269 Q 84 Back
270
Visit to Silverstone, see Annex Back
271
EV 123 Back
272
Q 364 Back
273
Ev 67 Back
274
Q 366 Back
275
http://www.omega.mmu.ac.uk/ Back
276
http://www.greenerbydesign.org.uk/home/index.php Back
277
http://www.sustainableaviation.co.uk/ Back
278
"Advanced Manufacturing - Building Britain's Future",
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills press release,
28 July 2009 Back
279
Q 84 Back
280
Q120 Back
281
Q 370 Back
282
Q 370 Back
283
http://www.bis.gov.uk/cleaner-racing-conference Back
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