Former US vice president Al Gore has been left “puzzled” by the recent cuts to renewables subsidies by the UK government.
In their short time in power, the Renewables Obligation scheme has been scrapped, subsidies for wind farms and solar projects have prematurely ended, cut Climate Change Levy (CCL) exemptions and the Feed-in Tariff scheme looks set to be under threat.
He voiced his concern over the Tories decision to renege on renewables commitments and expressed disbelief over reports that David Cameron no long has control of the decisions.
Gore stated: “I don’t believe that. I know that there will be a speech next week,” he said. “Words, words. What about actions? The actions that have been taken here in the last few months are puzzling to me.”
The government have defended their actions by claiming that the UK is already on target to hit EU climate change targets and that renewables development have already come down in cost and therefore no longer require subsidisation.
Energy secretary, Amber Rudd stated: “We will drive forward our commitment to end the public subsidy for onshore wind farms. Onshore wind is an important part of our energy mix but we now have enough projects in the pipeline to meet our renewable energy commitments.”
Rudd claims the government want instead to focus on encouraging the development of the UK’s oil and gas industry to help reduce reliance on foreign imports.
So that’ll be fracking then… Mr Gore won’t appreciate that. He has vehemently expressed opposition to the use of natural gas “until and unless they demonstrate the ability to stop the methane leaks at every stage of the process, particularly during fracking.”
It remains to be seen whether the government will pay heed to any of Gore’s views.
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