Britain could be facing a bill of more than £6bn a year to meet tough new emissions targets about to be published today by the European Commission (EC) in an effort to reach the European Union’s 20% energy target from renewables iby 2020.
José Manuel Barroso, EC president, said this week the cost of the proposals across all 27 member states would be €60bn (£44bn) a year, or 0.5% of gross domestic product, according to The Times.
Ben Warren, of the Ernst & Young renewable energy team, said Barroso’s comments indicated ‘the investment to be made in the UK alone based on 2006 GDP would equate to £6.5bn per year. He said the EU targets would be ‘extremely challenging’ to meet but were needed to create a sustainable and long-term market for renewable energy.
Industries using a lot of energy could be forced to spend more funds and critics of the commission’s draft plan for the next phase of its emissions trading scheme, which could include auctions for permits to emit carbon dioxide, fear the plans could lead to a loss of jobs and investment.
Further reading:
Tax on carbon fuels 'needed to fight climate change'
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