A cynic would argue that this story is predictable, but it is incredibly depressing.
British government officials have secretly briefed ministers that the country has no hope of getting remotely near the new European Union renewable energy target that Tony Blair only signed up to in the spring – and have suggested that they find ways of wriggling out of it.
In contrast to the government’s claims to be leading the world on climate change, officials within the former Department of Trade and Industry have admitted that under current policies Britain would miss the EU’s 2020 target of 20% energy from renewables by a long way. And they have suggested that “statistical interpretations of the target” be used rather than new ways to reach it
The briefing paper, obtained by the Guardian, reveals that officials at the department, now the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, think the best the UK could hope for is 9% of energy from renewable sources such as wind, solar or hydro by 2020. It says the UK “has achieved little so far on renewables” and that getting to 9%, from the current level of about 2%, would be “challenging”.
Environmentalists are shocked. “This briefing reads like a ‘wriggle and squirm’ paper,” said Andrew Simms, director of the New Economics Foundation. “It combines almost comic desperation from civil servants suddenly realising that they actually have to do something to promote renewable energy, with a breathtaking cynicism as they explore every conceivable get-out clause to escape the UK’s international commitments.”