We have been passed the letter (see last night’s blog) that sheds new light on the inter-departmental row over increasing carbon-cuts targets. Ministers must decide this month whether to legislate for the Committee on Climate Change’s recommendations in full in Britain’s fourth “carbon budget”.
The row is not quite as straightforward as it first appeared; it’s not a binary argument over whether to accept the report or not.
Vince does not dismiss the CCC recommendations out of hand but warns that their full implementation could have a serious impact on the competitiveness of British business.
Interestingly, the letter also implies that Chris Huhne himself did not want to implement the entire CCC report. For example, the energy secretary seems to have rejected the idea that the second and third carbon budgets should be adjusted upwards. There is also a hint that he will not accept their idea of including aviation and shipping in the carbon targets.
Anyway, here is the letter itself: vince letter jp
Jim Pickard
Kiran Stacey