March 25, 2010

Media Release

UK Budget gives NZ major lead on moves to lower emissions

Major new policies to help the United Kingdom become a low carbon economy announced in the latest Budget there indicate the type of moves which could be considered in New Zealand.

Billions of dollars are being ear marked to support low carbon sectors, provide new infrastructure for plug-in vehicles, new port facilities to entice off shore wind farm developers, cash and tax breaks for zero emission vehicles, and provide hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses with insulation and energy efficiency help.

The New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development says the UK’s actions provide an insight into the measures New Zealand could consider to complement emissions pricing here, but also encourage more rapid economic and green job growth.

Business Council Chief Executive Peter Neilson says moves like those being made in the UK, and other policies to lower carbon being adopted in our other key markets, including the United States, Europe and Japan, will directly affect our ability to compete in the future.

Mr Neilson says it is understood the Government will later this year look at what clean technology investment opportunities may available for New Zealand. The Business Council is also now scoping a possible study into what measures this country might take to complement the emissions trading scheme.

“There is a great deal more we can do to help New Zealand adapt to and compete in a world with a price on carbon. Policies like the major home insulation one adopted by the Government last year are an example.”

The UK Government aims to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 34 per cent by 2020, and by at least 80 per cent by 2050. Its emissions are 22 per cent lower than 20 years ago – comfortably surpassing the UK’s Kyoto target of a 12.5 per cent reduction.

The UK Budget says that by 2050, every unit of economic output will need to be produced using on average one-tenth of the carbon used today. The Budget says the Government has already enabled billions of pounds of green infrastructure investment by addressing investment barriers. The aim is to secure economic benefits for by creating new high skilled jobs in low-carbon growth industries, and reduce the costs of tackling climate change.

Budget 2010 measures include:
• creating a Green Investment Bank to support private investment in low-carbon infrastructure projects, bringing together public and private sector capital and operating on a commercial basis;
• launching UK Finance for Growth to streamline £4 billion of existing financial support for small and medium-sized businesses, which will include support to businesses to commercialise low-carbon technologies;
• £60 million for the development of UK port sites to support offshore wind turbine manufacturers looking to locate new facilities in the UK;
• halving the rate of company car tax for ultra-low carbon cars;
• a commitment to reduce Government departments’ carbon emissions by at least 30 per cent by 2020; and
• commitment to reform the energy market to provide clean, secure and affordable energy in the long-term, with a White Paper by Spring 2011.
The Government affirmed its commitment to building four plants to demonstrate carbon capture and storage (CCS). It says the CCS) will play an important role in global efforts to tackle climate change.- and the UK’s share of the CCS market could be worth £6.5 billion a year up to 2030, and support up to 100,000 jobs.UK renewable energy sector is worth over £30 billion and supports over 250,000 jobs.

New work is starting with the financial services industry on Pay as You Save arrangements which will allow millions of home owners to pay for home insulation, heating and other energy improvements from the savings they make on their energy bills.
New powers through an Energy Bill will require energy companies to offer additional help with bills to the most vulnerable households. Help from energy companies will reach £300 million per year by 2013-14, potentially providing support for an additional one million households.

The UK Government has committed over £450 million to support the manufacture and uptake of ultra-low carbon vehicles. A Plug-In Car Grant will provide up to £5,000 off the price of eligible cars from January 2011. Up to £30 million has been provided for the Plugged-In Places scheme to support the installation of charging infrastructure in streets, car parks, supermarkets and leisure and retail centres. The first Plugged-In Places – London, Milton Keynes and the North East – will install over 11,000 recharging points over the next three years.

(In New Zealand, Nissan has signed an understanding with Christchurch City to investigate providing infrastructure for all-electric vehicles).

Some £20.7 million will be provided to support Nissan’s investment in electric battery and car production. To provide 550 high skilled engineering jobs at Nissan’s plant in Sunderland. A loan guarantee is made to support Ford’s £1.55 billion investment programme to develop greener engine and vehicle technology.

Moves are also being made to support new future intelligent transport management technologies, develop supply chains for ultra-low carbon vehicles and boost the number of green buses.

There will be a five-year exemption from company car tax, to help make the UK one of the best places in the world to design and build low-carbon vehicles. The percentage of list price subject to company car tax will be halved for cars emitting between 1 and 75 g CO2 per km, for five years from April 2010. There will also be a 100 per cent first year capital allowance for zero-carbon goods vehicles.

The Budget summary of low carbon measures is available at http://www.nzbcsd.org.nz/story.asp?StoryID=1073

ENDS

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