Environment - Paying For It 2011

Environment: £3.5bn

November 23rd, 2011

The Government is committed to being the greenest ever. A simple, efficient and cost effective range of policies can meet environmental objectives while maintaining a sound economic position.

Scrap the Renewable Heat Incentive

The Renewable Heat Initiative (RHI) gives people an incentive to install more environmentally friendly technology, such as solar panels or wood-burning boilers.
Pros & Cons

PRO The scheme is expensive and the savings from scrapping the RHI will help the country address more immediate concerns such as the national deficit.

CON People less likely to use renewable energy technologies which could add an additional 44m tonnes of carbon emission by 2020.
Cut spending on new technologies to capture green house gases

This policy will end further public investment in Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS).
Pros & Cons

PRO As CCS is expensive to build, it needs to be more expensive to emit carbon to make CCS competitive. Such a high price will increase the cost of supplying electricity to households by as much as 50%.

CON Without the new technology it will be hard to restrict the rise in global temperature to 2°C.
Maintain investment in new carbon technologies

The government is currently investing in methods for storing carbon dioxide that the economy emits rather than releasing it into the atmosphere. This policy will retain planned spending on developing Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS).
Pros & Cons

PRO Without CCS it maybe more difficult to limit a rise in global temperature to 2°C. Alternatives maybe more costly; up to 70% more according to the International Energy Agency.

CON Storing carbon dioxide underground is expensive and a high price may increase the cost of supplying electricity to households by as much as 50%.
Introduce a Green Investment Bank to fund green technology

Introducing a Green Investment Bank will increase investment in green technologies and help the UK move towards a low-carbon economy.
Pros & Cons

PRO The Green Investment Bank will provide finance for green technology and may encourage further private investment to £18bn by 2014-15.

CON Large scale investment is required to turn the UK into a low carbon economy and there is a danger that too much public spending will block out private investment.

Submit your own policy

Do you have a better idea for a policy? Submit it in the text field below. (You still have to select one of the above choices). All ideas will be compiled with the most popular getting published in the Youth Budget 2012.

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Environment: £3.5bn

Scrap the Renewable Heat Incentive

Cut spending on new technologies to capture green house gases

Maintain investment in new carbon technologies

Introduce a Green Investment Bank to fund green technology

Submit your own policy

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