The Renewable Energy Centre believes UK carbon emissions should be cut by 42% by 2020.

A report issued by the Tyndall Centre of Climate Change this week highlighted that predictions about climate change and the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions may have been too optimistic.

The Renewable Energy Centre issued a statement in support of the recommendation that the UK should increase its 2020 target from 34% to a 42% reduction.

The Centre has always supported the view that not enough action has been taken and that the UK government is still talking about issues rather than taking decisive measures. Much of the UK's current achievements with regard to meeting emissions targets are due to heavy reliance on the emissions trading scheme. This does not actually change the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere by the UK and in its statement The Renewable Energy Centre said that this simply highlights our woeful commitment to renewable energy.

With the global economic crisis in full swing and the problems associated with climate change looming nearer, The Renewable Energy Centre warned that at some point, clear and drastic action would need to be taken to meet the targets set by the EU. The Centre recommended that action, which may not prove popular with the government or the UK as a nation, should include: legislation for individuals concerning insulation, energy use and air tightness in the home. The renewables industry needs an open fast track system for the installation of renewable or clean energy solutions.

Clearer policy on the supply of energy should be instigated in order to push forward the renewable energy sector as the primary supply of energy to the UK. The Renewable Energy Centre said that the effects of climate change are still very much in their infancy in directly affecting individuals in the UK. However the looking at the worldwide scenario, the effects of climate change are already somewhat advanced. Only this week the break-up of the Wilkins Ice Shelf in Antartica shows the road to catastrophic disasters and energy shortages is not far away.

Richard Simmons, Managing Director at The Renewable Energy Centre said "Everyone talks about saving the planet; it's not about the planet it's about saving humanity. Due to short-sighted politics and financial decisions we are now in a global economic crisis which to some extent is diverting attention from the ever bigger silent crisis of climate change which ticks relentlessly away. It may sound like scaremongering, but the science is behind it and no one is really doing anything to make the radical changes needed."

The Renewable Energy Centre said that increasingly, reports such as that released by the Tyndale Centre, will eventually reach the ears of politicians but possibly only after the devastating effects of climatic events, have actually happened.

http://www.therenewableenergycentre.co.uk

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