One of the features of the European Union are the Targets and
Directives that are produced for the member states to sign up to, to
abide by and to seek to achieve.
The
2020 targets seek to improve energy efficiency by 20%, achieve 20%
renewable energy as a percentage of total energy and reduce carbon
emissions by 20%. Across the member states different policies have been
established to achieve these targets. In the UK much of the funding to
help us reach our share of the target comes from energy companies so we
all effectively pay for it through our fuel bills. Policies in the UK
such as the Energy Company Obligation and the Feed In Tariff are paid
for through a levy on our fuel bills. though the vast majority of rises
in energy bills are nothing to do with 'green taxes'. This still doesn't
stop climate change deniers and the Daily Mail (as if they were
different in some way!) attributing energy bill price hikes seemingly
exclusively as a result of 'green taxes'. Nethertheless it is important
to ensure those on the lowest incomes are the ones who benefit most from
environmental taxes to ensure fairness is a fundamental consideration
when seeking to address environmental concerns. This is where the
concept of a Social Energy Target came from.
So
what is an EU Social Energy Target? The EU is currently considering the
2030 successors to the 2020 renewables, carbon and energy efficiency
targets. There is now an opportunity to develop a complementary target
which not only seeks to reduce fuel poverty but also encourages this aim
to work in harmony with environmental targets. If this can be achieved
the assertion that environmental and social targets are incompatible can
be not only challenged but also demonstrably disproved.
What
might a target look like and how might it operate? The UK did have a
target of eradicating fuel poverty completely by 2016. With rises in
fuel prices, cuts in income and frankly utterly inadequate policies to
address the energy efficiency of homes this is simply not going to be
achieved. There is a clear need to develop a realisable plan to ensure
affordable warmth and an end to fuel poverty. This may result in
policies that encourage the installation of solar panels, such as the
feed in tariff being directed to those on lower incomes OR incentivise
government to direct more of the £1.3 billion/year Energy Company
Obligation funding to be directed to people in fuel poverty.
The
other benefits of the Social Energy Target could be less cold related
illnesses, more jobs in the energy efficiency sector. This has got to be
worth pursuing and progressing. I'll keep you posted!
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