The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has developed road maps for the transport, power, industry and buildings sectors to put the UK at the forefront of low-carbon technology and ensure targets are met.
As an example of the CBI’s recommendations, in the transport road map the organisation says ‘smart dashboards’ which tell a driver when to most efficiently change gear should be fitted into all new cars as standard. It also wants government to buy a fleet of electric cars to set a good example, a short-term scrappage scheme that rewards consumers who replace older inefficient cars with newer more efficient models and heightened availability of bio-fuels at filling stations.
In the industrial sector it wants phase three of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme to be finalised plus the incentives to invest in renewable energy gear.
Examples from the buildings roadmap are agreement on a realistic definition of ‘zero-carbon’ for new homes and business premises and the widespread installation of smart meters in homes and businesses so energy use is transparent.
Finally, in power generation it recommends national policy statements on renewable power be produced as a matter of urgency and the approval of an additional “carbon capture and storage” demonstration project.
“Together these roadmaps show the practical steps that need to be taken from now until 2020 to make sure we meet our climate change targets, secure our energy supply and make the transition to a low-carbon economy,” said John Cridland, deputy director-general of the CBI.
“Achieving all of this in the ambitious timeframe that has been set will require massive investment of private capital, much of it from abroad. But this will only be forthcoming if there is certainty about the direction of government policy, a robust price for carbon, a clear planning and regulatory structure, the right regime for tax and intellectual property, and the skills that will be needed to bring all this new kit to market.”
The road maps are available at http://climatechange.cbi.org.uk/reports/
