Drive slower to save the planet

A CRACKDOWN on speeding motorway drivers, more electricity generated by offshore wind turbines, and winter fuel payments for pensioners linked to energy efficiency measures.

These are among more than 50 proposals contained in a leaked Government report aimed at reducing our emissions of greenhouse gases. The confidential report, obtained by a national newspaper, is believed to have been drawn up by Elliot Morley, Minister For Climate Change at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

It follows a Government review of policies to tackle climate change launched in September last year when it became clear ministers were struggling to meet their pledge to cut UK emissions of carbon dioxide by 20 per cent by 2010.

According to reports, measures proposed in the document are grouped into "frontrunner", "emerging" and "difficult" options, and they include:

Frontrunners

extending UK participation in the EU carbon trading scheme

making houses more energy efficient.

imposing pollution caps and domestic carbon trading on UK businesses.

Emerging

linking winter fuel payments to energy efficiency measures

forcing energy suppliers to use more offshore wind turbines

better enforcement of building regulations so new buildings waste less energy.

Difficult

forcing the 15 million motorists who exceed the 70mph speed limit on roads to slow down. This would be "politically sensitive", the report acknowledges, but stricter enforcement of the speed limit could save 890,000 tons of carbon a year, because the efficiency of car engines falls quickly above 70mph.

increased car sharing.

The leaked review reveals just how seriously the Government is taking climate change - and also how politically difficult and sensitive doing anything about it is.

Only last week, the Transport Secretary, Alistair Darling, announced that by 2010, oil companies would have to sell all petrol and diesel with a mix of five per cent renewable "bio-fuels".

But yesterday, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) became the latest organisation to blast the Government's rhetoric on climate change as little more than hot air.

Criticising Prime Minister Tony Blair's comments, when discussing the Kyoto protocol, that binding targets to cut pollution made people nervous and undermined economic success, the WWF's UK director of campaigns, Andrew Lee, said: "It is becoming clear that all the talking up has been aimed more at trying to please environmentally concerned voters and green organisations than demonstrating the will to actually use leadership in tough negotiations."

A spokesman for DEFRA refused to comment on the details of the leaked proposals today, although he confirmed a review was ongoing. It would be published in the next few weeks, he said.

So do the measures being considered go far enough?

We canvassed a few opinions...

Mark Hill, a member of the Green Party on City of York Council.

Reducing motorway speeding: This was one of the main tools used by the US in the 1970s, and there was no doubt it could help reduce carbon emissions, Coun Hill said. But there were more fundamental issues that needed to be addressed too. People today were driving much bigger, heavier cars than 30 years ago, he said - and because they were heavier they used more fuel. He would like to see a tax on big, luxury four-wheel drive vehicles - and on company car perks.

Bio-fuel mixes: Coun Hill is in favour of the Government requirement that by 2010 petrol and diesel should include a five per cent mix of sustainable biodiesel.

That five per cent limit had been set because up to that point, cars which run on petrol or diesel could run on the bio-diesel mix without their performance being significantly affected, he said. He would like to see the Government go further, however, with a reduced tax on bio-diesels to encourage greater use.

Offshore wind turbines: It was good to require more electricity to be generated by offshore turbines, Coun Hill said, but the benefits would be limited.

"It is more cost effective to save energy than to produce energy more sustainably," he said.

Thus, while Government tended to favour "big solutions" that it could claim credit for - offshore wind turbine farms, nuclear power stations etc - it was the smaller, less glamorous energy-saving measures that had most effect. With more carbon produced by heating homes and public buildings than by industry, Coun Hill was in favour of measures to encourage greater energy efficiency in the home. He would not want to see pensioners who failed to have their homes properly insulated penalised by losing their winter fuel payments, but he did think the Government was right to try to encourage more people to take up the grants that were available.

Coun Hill was also in favour of better enforcement of building regulations - but again, did not think the proposals went far enough.

He wanted local authorities given power to impose stricter building controls on developers, over and above national minimum requirements on energy efficiency, to ensure new homes did not waste energy.

The Automobile Association (AA)

Paul Watters, the head of roads policy for the AA Motoring Trust, said there would be advantages to cracking down on motorists who broke the motorway speed limit, quite apart from reducing carbon emissions.

Tackling the 15 per cent of motorists who drove at "harebrained speeds" would mean everybody on the motorway would reach their destinations more quickly because traffic would flow more smoothly, he said.

Slower motorists would also save money - and pay less in tax.

The AA did have concerns about the proposals, though. Presumably, speed cameras would have to be used to catch speeding motorists, Mr Waters said.

This would be expensive - and it would also be the first time cameras had been employed for a reason other than improving road safety.

Age Concern

Yes, said James Player, deputy chief officer of Age Concern York, more did need to be done to encourage pensioners and others to take up the grants they were entitled to in an effort to make their homes more energy efficient.

But there should be no question of pensioners' winter fuel payments being at risk if they failed to improve their homes.

"As far as we are concerned, the bottom line for older people is their health and safety," he said.

Christian Vassie, York Liberal Democrat councillor and green campaigner

Motorway speeds: Coun Vassie saw the sense in cracking down on speedsters.

But it would be much more effective for the Government to take on manufacturers and require them to make cars that did more miles to the gallon.

It was always consumers who were told to change their habits, Coun Vassie said, but Governments should use their clout to get manufacturers to change their ways too.

If there were legislation requiring that all cars driven in the UK should do 60 miles per gallon, they very soon would, he said.

Building regulations: Ensuring stricter enforcement of building regulations would be a step forward, Coun Vassie said.

At the moment, something like 90 per cent of new buildings did not meet building regulations.

But it would need a real injection of cash and resources to enable local authorities to train the necessary building inspectors.

Ideally, he said, the building regulation department of a council should be able to give advice to people planning new homes or even new extensions on how to make them more energy efficient. But it all came down to resources.

Winter fuel payments: Punishing pensioners who did not take advantage of home efficiency grants would be wrong, Coun Vassie said.

But he agreed with fellow York city councillor Mark Hill that more needed to be done to encourage people on benefits, including pensioners, to take up grants for home improvements.

Wind turbines: Coun Vassie had "no problem" with the Government pushing for more electricity to be generated by offshore turbines.

But he would like to see more effort put into encouraging "micro-generation" too, measures like solar roof panels or even mini wind turbines that can stand on the roof.

Carbon trading: This was no solution to climate change, Coun Vassie said, merely a way for rich countries to massage their carbon emission figures by taking advantage of the fact less developed countries produced less carbon.

If the Government were serious about climate change, he said, it really should be putting up a tax on aviation fuel.

If the fuel used by aircraft were taxed at the same rate as that used by cars and lorries, we would soon get an idea of the true cost of imported goods, he said - which might even help UK manufacturing and agriculture.

:: Grants to make your home energy efficient

For those on benefits, the Government-funded Warm Front grant offers up to £2,700 towards the following: loft insulation; draught-proofing of windows and doors; cavity wall insulation; hot water tank insulation; energy efficient light bulbs; installation of gas, electric or oil central heating (only considered if the existing heating system is broken down or a home is not "adequately" heated); and conversion of a solid fuel open fire to a more efficient glass-fronted fire.

Those who may be entitled to a grant include:

Pensioners over 60 claiming pension credit or other benefits

Families with a child under 16 claiming benefits

Anyone claiming benefits which include a disability premium.

People who do not receive benefits or do not fall within these categories may qualify for discounted cavity wall insulation and loft insulation top-ups.

For more information call the York Energy Efficiency Advice Centre's freephone advice line on 0800 512 012.

Updated: 09:26 Tuesday, November 15, 2005