This note summarises details of Solar PV feed-in tariffs, including the various reviews of tariffs for solar, the latest consultation published in February 2012, and the Government's defeat in the courts.
Tar sands (oil sands) have potential to provide a significant fraction of future global oil demand but there are concerns, acknowledged in an EC Fuel Quality Directive, about their environmental impact, not least on greenhouse gas emissions.
This note (March 2011) examines the policy and issues relating to carbon capture and storage and in particular, how it relates to coal-fired energy generation.
This is a report on the House of Commons Committee Stage of the Energy Bill. It complements Library Research Paper 11/36 (Energy Bill) prepared for the Commons Second Reading.
Air Transport Statistics by Tom Rutherford (SN/SG/3760). This note looks in detail at trends in air travel in the UK and the latest official projections, passenger fatality rates; fares, air freight, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. It includes some key facts on aviation's contribution to the economy and employment. Some international comparisons of air transport are also given.
This briefing on the Energy Bill has been prepared for the Second Reading Debate in the House of Commons. The flagship policy in the Bill is the “Green Deal”, a scheme whereby homes would be given finance upfront to make energy efficiency improvements, which would then be paid for by energy bill savings. The Bill would also set up a new obligation on energy companies to help certain groups of consumers with saving energy, who need extra support.
The Bill also introduces a range of other measures designed to improve energy efficiency; such as facilitating the roll-out of smart meters, widening access to energy performance certificates and making information on energy bills clearer. The Bill also provides measures designed to help improve energy security, to encourage low carbon generation and to grant additional powers to the Coal Authority to charge for certain services.
This note covers the climate negotiations which have taken place since the Copenhagen Conference (COP 15) in December 2009, in the lead up to the next meeting in Cancun in November 2010.
This note sets out the measures in the Bill alongside what was said about these areas in the Conservative and Liberal Democrat election manifestos, the formal coalition Government agreement and the March 2010 Conservative green paper Rebuilding Security: Conservative energy policy for an uncertain world. It also highlights comment on the proposals.