UK election: Is the ‘greenest government ever’ about to turn brown?

The Conservative election victory in the UK over the weekend has left the renewables industry on shaky ground, amid warnings the new majority government will scrap solar subsidies, shift the national energy focus to shale gas, and make good on threats to hobble the onshore wind industry.

“We are concerned about the future of onshore wind development, and that there is some suggestion the Conservatives are opposed to decarbonising the electricity supply,” said RenewableUK deputy chief executive Maf Smith in a statement.

And the concern seems warranted, because despite achieving all sorts of clean energy milestones for the UK on his watch – including a world number 3 ranking in utility-scale solar installations – returning Prime Minister David Cameron does not appear to be a fan, despite once promising to lead the greenest government ever.

Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron gestures to a member of the audience during a questions and answers session following his speech about retirement, as he sets out the Conservative Party’s fifth manifesto theme, in Hastings, south England, Monday, Feb. 23, 2015. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)S

As The Guardian put it on Sunday, “this is a government which has spent two years at least trying to slam the brakes on renewables while pushing subsidy towards hyperexpensive nuclear power, and at the North Sea through tax cuts (subsidies by another name).

“The Tories have been intensively lobbied by the dying fossil fuel industry that money would be better spent on unproven (in the UK) fracking for gas and on pouring billions more of public money chasing the broken nuclear dream.”

Cameron, himself, is on record for telling a government aide to “get rid of all the green crap” from the party’s environmental policy a few years back, while the Tory’s current party manifesto pledges “to halt the spread of onshore wind farms,” which, like some of Australia’s leading Conservative politicians, they say are an eyesore.

“There is nothing good for green energy about the Tories’ election,” said Tom Burke, a former director of Friends of the Earth and now chairman of the E3G sustainable development charity.

“They are certainly going to show a lot of hostility to renewables and Britain is going to get left behind.”

Bourke said there was also concern a majority Conservative government would abandon climate action “by stealth” – especially if the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) waas scrapped which, he said, was a distinct possibility.

Comments

5 responses to “UK election: Is the ‘greenest government ever’ about to turn brown?”

  1. Glen S Avatar
    Glen S

    It seems the general public thinks an economy doesn’t require an environment to exist within. Between the Tories in the UK and the Libs here it’s an endless stream of backwards looking, last century policy pushed by the fossil fuel industry.

    We’re truly screwed if we end up with a Republican president in 2016!

  2. Colin Nicholson Avatar
    Colin Nicholson

    “to halt the spread of onshore wind farms,” when you have areas like Dogger Bank, why wouldn’t you go offshore? – to “get rid of all the green crap” is sound advice when you are arguing that renewables are a sound economic investment. Certainly try to (financially) estimate and include all benefits , but no evangelism please Green evangelism is the biggest turnoff to the masses.

  3. david H Avatar
    david H

    Governments can and do cause short term – wrecking ball damage when they get it wrong. However, in the longer term technology and the market along with those in the real world actually decide what will happen.

  4. onesecond Avatar
    onesecond

    I can’t help to think that we have reached Orwellian newspeak levels with Conservatives being heavily against conservation. What a sad joke.

  5. Ken Fabian Avatar
    Ken Fabian

    This will have implications for Australian climate and energy politics – I have suspected for some time that the Abbott government is willing to hold the line against climate/emissions/energy action because they have a strong expectation – or at least strong hope – of a Conservative Right anti-climate action clean sweep of US elections next year. Having a Conservative, Lukewarmer (don’t dispute the science in order to more effectively obstruct) government in the UK will give even greater hope to Abbott and his climate conspiracy theorists of an emerging international alliance – Australia, UK, Canada, US ? – capable of fighting back against their imaginary UN eco-tyranny.

    So, I expect that Abbott will not respond as people seem to think he should to international pressure. He will not consider anything Obama or others do to be legitimate or binding – they can be replaced by ‘better’ governments – and he will be willing to go further and risk more than most analysts think to sabotage a strong international agreement.

    Conservative opposition to climate action is global and even where outright rejection of climate science is politically untenable it continues to oppose and obstruct – in lukewarmer or Abbott style, that avoids disputing the science – whilst maintaining undiminished determination to delay and distort and compromise into ineffectiveness the climate and energy efforts of those who care.

Get up to 3 quotes from pre-vetted solar (and battery) installers.