News story

Tackling climate change doesn鈥檛 cost the earth

Edward Davey article in the Telegraph on the latest DECC analysis showing the impact of policies on energy prices and bills

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government
Edward Davey

皇冠体育app Government has a duty to help keep bills down 鈥� and that鈥檚 what we鈥檝e been doing.

皇冠体育appre鈥檚 a lot of help available to the most vulnerable, such as cold weather payments and the Warm Homes Discount.

But my Department has been concentrating on keeping bills as low as possible over the long-term - and for everyone.

Some people think climate change policies on things like wind farms are what are behind high bills. But they couldn鈥檛 be more wrong.

皇冠体育app biggest single factor driving bills higher is global oil and gas prices. 皇冠体育appy have been rising remorselessly, fuelled by demand in growing economies like China.

And, they鈥檙e likely to keep rising.

皇冠体育app Government can鈥檛 control the global market and drive down international wholesale prices.

What we can do is take steps to put a cushion between these global prices and the bills we all pay at home.

Through investment in domestic sources of low carbon energy like nuclear, wind and wave power, and other renewables, we are looking to diversify supply and help cushion the public from volatile fossil fuel prices in the future.

皇冠体育app reforms we are making to the electricity market will help incentivise 拢110 billion investment from the private sector, with a focus on home-grown clean energy infrastructure.

Through the Green Deal we are encouraging people to improve their homes and save energy. Saving energy means lower bills.

Our analysis shows that, taken together, these policies and others mean household bills are already lower 鈥� by an average of 拢64 鈥� than they would have been if we鈥檇 introduced none of our policies.

In 2020, bills will on average be around 11 per cent lower, than they would be if we were doing nothing.

Let鈥檚 be clear - bills will still be higher. But they will be 拢166 lower than if we sat on our hands.

This Government is proving that helping to tackle climate change, and diversify supply, doesn鈥檛 have to cost the earth. In fact it creates green growth and green jobs.

皇冠体育app move to a clean energy sector will place the UK at the leading edge of a new global green energy market worth around 拢3.3 trillion.

So, our policies are not only about tackling climate change, diversifying supply and creating jobs, but also about saving money on bills too.

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Published 27 March 2013