Three Years, Two Publications, and still no Legislation on Sustainable Energy

Speech by Andrew Stunell MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow Energy Minister delivered to House of Commons on Fri 28th Mar 2003

Stunell welcomes the new Sustainable Energy Bill, but hopes it can be given more teeth.

[This speech, taken from a House of Commons Debate on the Sustainable Energy Bill on Friday, 28 March 2003, has been slightly edited for the web]

Three years after the publication of the findings of the royal commission on environmental pollution, one year after the publication of the performance and innovation unit report and some months after the publication of the energy White Paper, we are still waiting for the Government to produce the money, the legislation and the vision that would lead to us having a sustainable energy policy.

The Bill is timely, however, as we need a sustainable energy policy if we are to come anywhere near achieving our Kyoto commitments and the reduction in CO2 outputs recommended as a minimum by the royal commission and if we are to do anything like enough to avoid damaging our environment and, indeed, that of the planet.

The Bill is also aimed at the right problems. It is clear in setting out what needs to be done in terms of producing energy and power, particularly electricity, and also the efficient use of power. Its intentions are of the best but the question is: will it be effective...Perhaps the most important thing it does is to create a new duty to have a sustainable energy policy. While the need for that may seem self-evident, plenty of commentators still doubt the need either for an energy policy or for a sustainable one. If the Bill makes progress, it will, I hope, nail that fallacy.

The Bill sets long-term targets for sustainable energy production, which is a good thing. It rightly identifies many technologies and allocates to them their respective roles. It is important to recognise that some technologies are at or very near the market and others, while very promising, are a long way short of being commercial. I hope that the sponsors of the Bill will recognise that one cannot have a once-and-for-all fix of a mixture of technologies. One has to look at the science, the technology and the market and ensure that as appropriate each technology plays its role.

The Bill sets out action to conserve energy, in particular the huge waste of energy in the domestic sector. There are plenty of good estimates to suggest that, even by the implementation of quite routine measures, most households could save about 30 per cent of the energy that they use, and in doing so improve their quality of life. People would not have to sit there shivering and freezing in the cold.

All those things are in the Bill and are certainly good…and I will support the Bill but we want it to be strengthened. I hope that in Committee it can be provided with additional teeth, rather than going into Committee and coming out with just a pair of gums…

It is important to recognise that how to achieve an improvement in domestic energy efficiency is well understood. There is no magic about what needs to be done. For 30 years, Governments have had schemes to save it, to switch off the lights, to do this, that and the other but smooth words and slogans are not enough. It is a pity that clause 2 is stuck with words like "may" rather than "shall" and that it talks about encouraging, offering guidance and promoting schemes when what we need is decisive action within a clear policy framework and tough regulatory action supported by financial and fiscal measures.

We must change the culture. We are in the bizarre situation in which all of us know that we could save energy in our homes, thereby saving money and probably improving the quality of our lives, but there are no incentives, we do not have the culture right, we are not doing it properly. Clause 2, particularly clause 2(1), is somewhat tepid and falls into the same trap as the failed "save it" campaign.

There are two or three measures that would in the longer term significantly improve domestic energy conservation and efficiency and benefit us all. One is to have a requirement relating to the replacement of central heating boilers. About 1 million central heating boilers a year are replaced but there are no effective energy efficiency standards relating to them. A new generation of micro combined heat and power central heating boilers is being developed and coming on to the market. They will not only heat the home but generate electricity. The PIU report identified that micro CHP would be the most efficient way of reducing carbon dioxide emissions from homes. A simple regulatory requirement ensuring that central heating boilers were replaced by high-efficiency micro CHP boilers would be my clear preference. In 20 years it would transform the energy outputs of our homes. One could make the same point about white goods, where the efficiency standards are far too low, not achieving the best available options.

The Liberal Democrats welcome the Bill. It is in many ways an excellent attempt at delivering a long overdue policy for this country. I hope that we can strengthen a few of its weaknesses in Committee. In particular I hope that it can escape the pruning and the predations to which private Members' Bills are often subjected in Committee...