Latest news with #climate targets
Sky News
2 days ago
- Business
- Sky News
Could your summer holiday be greener? Government invests £63m into more sustainable types of jet fuel
The government is investing £63m in new types of jet fuel that it hopes will make your summer holiday a little more eco-friendly - though not everyone is convinced. The cash will be shared by 17 British companies developing different types of "sustainable aviation fuel" (SAF), made from materials including forest cuttings, household rubbish, sugar beet or hydrogen gas. Ministers said the funds could support 1,400 jobs, add £5bn to the economy and help the British industry get ahead as global demand for SAF soars in order to meet stricter climate targets. But campaigners question how sustainable these fuels really are, saying the real answer is to deter "frequent flying". They warn the materials needed for sustainable fuels are hard to come by and too expensive to ever scale up. Industry says it needs this cash injection precisely in order to lower costs and grow, and global demand is booming. 1:55 As of January, flights taking off from the UK must use 2% SAF in their fuel, under new government rules. This will gradually rise to 10% in 2030 and 22% in 2040. But there have been alarm bells warning not enough SAF will be available to meet those targets. The government says sustainable fuels cut emissions of greenhouse gases by 70% on average compared with kerosene over the course of its life, which includes producing it and burning it. Aviation minister Mike Kane said: "We're not just backing brilliant British innovation, we're creating thousands of high-skilled jobs and positioning the UK at the forefront of the global sustainable aviation market." He said the move would "kickstart economic growth, secure energy independence, and make Britain a clean energy superpower". But campaigners say at best the fuels will reduce aviation emissions "by a tiny fraction of the amount needed", and are being used to justify "irresponsible levels" of airport expansion. James Sutton, co-director of climate charity Possible, told Sky News they were not anti-investment, but that the SAF plans would not bring down emissions at the pace and scale necessary. He said: "We need to cut those emissions immediately if we have any hope of hitting our climate goals, not just sit and hope for the best in a few decades time. "The technology and investment required for SAF to displace kerosene entirely is simply not there yet, but policies aimed at reducing demand for flights and taxing frequent flyers, which will therefore cut emissions, are possible now. "So that is what we need to focus on first and foremost." The biggest winner in this round of funding was Stockton-on-Tees based Alfanar Energy, which will get £8m for converting waste wood from sawmills and forestry into SAF.
Irish Times
7 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Political opposition hinders electricity projects
Political opposition continues to hinder projects designed to guarantee electricity supplies and aid the Republic in hitting climate targets, TDs and senators heard on Wednesday. Noel Cunniffe, chief executive of industry group, Wind Energy Ireland, told the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate, Environment and Energy, that Eirgrid's north-south interconnector, which has cleared all planning hurdles, continued to face opposition. 'There is a general consensus that investment in national grid projects is good, but when it comes to local level, that gets challenged,' he said. Mr Cunniffe pointed out that both Dáil deputies and councillors tended to oppose electricity projects at local level. READ MORE Justin Moran, the organisation's director of external affairs, argued that 'opposition to grid projects is not a victimless crime'. He was responding to committee members who raised this week's news that families cannot move into new homes in Portlaoise, Co Laois, because their estate does not have electricity connections. [ Electricity squeeze hits grid projects Opens in new window ] Mr Moran pointed out that while EirGrid received permission for plans to boost the national electricity grid supplying Laois and Kilkenny in 2014, continued opposition meant that work was only under way now. Nicholas Tarrant, managing director, ESB Networks, said 'there are places on the network where there is limited capacity, and we are working on that'. They include Portlaoise, other similar towns along with areas such as Dublin north and west, according to the State company boss. Regulators are weighing proposals to allow ESB Networks to spend €11.6 billion up to 2030 on boosting the systems that supply electricity to homes and businesses.
Finextra
16-07-2025
- Business
- Finextra
Can reducing fossil fuel subsidies advance global climate goals?
0 This content has been selected, created and edited by the Finextra editorial team based upon its relevance and interest to our community. Research from ZEW Manheim found that worldwide climate targets can be met by reducing subsidies for fossil fuels. The Paris Agreement aims to limit global warming to below 2°C to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Targets range from achieving net zero by 2035 to 2070 depending on the country, with most settling in the middle at 2050. The UK is aiming to become net zero by 2045 and pledged to reduce emissions by 69% by 2030. What are fossil fuel subsidies? Many governments have direct and indirect subsidies in fossil fuels – the former being direct payments, and the latter allowing significant tax breaks to allocated businesses and institutions. In 2022, fossil fuels received $7 trillion in subsidies. Countries with the largest subsidies in fossil fuels are producers of oil, such as Saudi Arabia, Libya, Kazakhstan, Iran, and Algeria. Countries such as Venezuela, Finland, Australia, and Ireland also have large subsidies in fossil fuel industries, according to 2021 research from Our World in Data. Governments fund subsidies as a privileged form of financial aid, to support sectors of a nation's economy with the ultimate goal of maximising profit and protecting domestic jobs. Other forms of government subsidies are individual subsidies, like student loans and unemployment benefits. In the US, subsidies have historically supported the agricultural, financial, oil, and utility industries – the motivations behind this can be political and economic. Some socioeconomic theories suggest certain industries require protection from global competition to ensure profitability. There have been arguments against government subsidies that inspire a free economy vs. mixed economy debate; defenders of the free market argue that the free economy cannot exist with government intervention, whereas those who are pro-subsidies state that protecting certain industries allows people to thrive and jobs to remain intact. 'Many governments still help to keep fossil fuels cheap for consumers. For example, explicit subsidies are used to cover part of the supply cost, or external health costs associated with the use of fossil fuels are not included in prices because of implicit subsidies,' stated Professor Sebastian Rausch, head of the ZEW Research Unit 'Environmental and Climate Economics'. How can reducing fossil fuel subsidies lead to achieving climate goals? US subsidies in fossil fuels amounted to $757 billion in 2022, $3 billion in explicit subsidies, and $754 billion in implicit subsidies. Subsidies exceeded the federal government's tax revenues from natural gas and petroleum by $2.1 billion in 2022. Under former President Joe Biden, the US pledged to phase out from fossil fuel investments abroad by 2040. However, since then, the new US administration has pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement and instated anti-ESG laws, allowing climate-killing fossil fuels to continue to thrive. According to the IMF, reducing fossil fuel subsidies can promote economic growth by limiting uneven division of resources, reduce pollution and climate change, and encourage better social spending by reductions in taxes. The research from ZEW revealed that a third of all countries could meet their climate goals by reducing subsidies in coal, oil, and natural gas – which could lower carbon emissions enough to meet climate targets without additional policies. The argument against fossil fuel subsidies is not a new one; discussions at 2021 and 2022 UN climate change conferences have been pushed for policies to retract tax privileges from oil and gas industries. A report from the University of Cambridge published in May outlined that to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement, three climate actions are essential. Reducing emissions by moving energy production away from fossil fuels that generate greenhouse gas emissions; Reduction of energy use in sectors to ensure greenhouse gas removal; and Optimising land management through solar radiation modification. The removal of both implicit and explicit fossil fuel subsidies is essential. The report states: 'many countries continue to heavily subsidise fossil fuels, both explicitly (by undercharging supply costs) and implicitly (by failing to account for the non-market costs associated with local externalities of fossil fuel use).' The figure below outlines the differences between explicit and implicit subsidies based on 2022 data from the IMF, and what approaches are being taken to reduce them. Source: Our World in Data Reducing all direct fossil fuel subsidies would not successfully tamp down on global emissions, however identifying hidden costs of fossil fuels in energy prices could cut down global emissions by 32%, whilst improving welfare in nations. Tim Kalmey, researcher at ZEW and also co-author of the ZEW study, commented: 'Phasing out explicit subsidies, such as tax exemptions on kerosene or gas price ceilings, would only have a limited effect on CO2 emissions. It is crucial that also the local externalities of fossil fuels, i.e. the harmful effects on health caused by local air pollution, are factored in. We estimate that this would reduce global CO2 emissions by 32%.' Only reducing explicit fossil fuels will not fulfil the climate goals outlined by the Paris Agreement, but eliminating implicit fossil fuel subsidies will allow one-third of countries to overachieve their climate targets. With effective energy pricing, the cost of achieving climate goals can be lowered for all countries, and adding effective energy pricing on top of carbon pricing to meet the Paris Agreement goals will increase welfare by 120%. By retracting government intervention in gas and oil industries, not only will it protect the planet, but the welfare of individual nations that will take part. This new data is key for policymakers, who can use it to make real progress towards mitigating climate change.
The Guardian
14-07-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
UK's clean electricity growing too slowly to meet climate targets
Britain is expected to fall short of the progress needed to meet its climate targets over the next decade because it is not growing its supply of clean electricity fast enough, according to the government's energy system operator. The latest 10-year forecast of Britain's carbon emissions by the government-owned body has revealed that by 2035 the UK will be producing almost a third more carbon emissions than in scenarios where it is on track to meet its legally binding climate targets by 2050. It is the second official warning in the last month that the government's climate targets are at risk of being derailed after the Committee on Climate Change reported that two-fifths of the emissions reductions needed to meet the UK's interim climate target by the end of the decade still have significant risks or insufficient plans to deliver them. The latest forecast report, published by the National Energy System Operator (Neso), represents the operator's current view of the next 10 years based on the UK's existing project pipelines and policies to highlight 'the difference between where we are heading compared [with] where we need to get to'. It suggests that the UK will produce 274m tonnes of carbon (MtCO2) by 2035, well above the 185–204MtCO2 range shown in the same year for the Neso scenarios in which the UK meets the government's net zero target by 2050. Fintan Slye, the chief executive of Neso, said the energy system's climate progress 'isn't enough' and the UK would 'need to go further and faster, accelerating the rollout of clean energy technologies' to bring about a clean and affordable energy system in the long-term. 'The choices made today will shape the success of each wave of Britain's transition. That means speeding up the adoption of energy efficiency measures, empowering households and businesses to make informed choices on things like demand flexibility, buying an electric car and switching to low-carbon heating,' Slye said. The system operator, which was acquired by the government from energy company National Grid last year, said halving the UK's emissions to about 200MtCO2 would 'only be possible by accelerating the mainstream use of low-carbon technologies', from the UK's industrial bases through to homes and transport. However, the Neso's own data shows that the UK's growing clean electricity supplies are on track to fall short of the progress needed to reach net zero. The UK is expected to reach 148GW of renewable electricity by 2035, according to the 10 year forecast, but it would need between 170GW and 190GW by this time in scenarios where the UK meets its 2050 climate goals. Sign up to Down to Earth The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential after newsletter promotion The findings are likely to pile pressure on the government's plans to boost investment in renewables and more energy efficient homes as its climate plans face growing scrutiny over its climate agenda. Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, accused politicians who reject net zero policies of betraying future generations in a 'state of the climate' address to the House of Commons. The intervention is expected to counter the anti-climate rhetoric of the Conservative party which has vowed to abandon the 2050 net zero target, and Reform UK which pledged to scrap all net zero policies and subsidies for renewable energy. A government spokesperson said: 'This report sets out the need to accelerate the country's progress to clean power – which is exactly what we are doing by sprinting to clean power by 2030 and delivering the most significant investment in history in clean, homegrown energy that we control.' 'Our actions over the last year have already laid strong foundations for achieving this mission – by approving projects that could power 2m homes, attracting over £40bn in private sector investment, setting up the publicly owned Great British Energy, launching a new golden age of nuclear power, and introducing plans to upgrade millions of homes to cut bills for homeowners and renters,' the spokesperson added.
