There are a number of national and international agreements designed to promote low carbon technologies. They’re complex, but the net unsecured loans effect is that they are strong legal structures that provide long term support.
They include the following:
They include the following:
The Kyoto Protocol
Under the Kyoto Protocol, the UK has a target to reduce carbon emissions by an average of 12.5% over the period 2008-2012 bad credit loans compared to 1990. The good news is that we’re on target. However, there is no global agreement that will replace the Kyoto Protocol after 2012.
UK Carbon Budgets
The UK is the first country in the world to have a legal cap on carbon emissions – and by 2050 the target is an 80% reduction compared to 1990.
A target in 2050 is all very well, but what we need are legally-binding targets along the way to provide focus and more policy certainty for business to help them plan lower carbon investments. The budgets for the first 3 5-yearly carbon budgets are -22% (2008-2012), -28% (2013-2017) and -34% (2018-2022), All these reductions are compared to 1990. These targets will be strengthened to an average annual reduction of 2.6% in the event that a global deal to replace the Kyoto Protocol is reached.
*EU Carbon Reduction Targets *
The European Union has committed to an average 20% reduction in carbon emissions between 2013-2020 compared to 1990 at minimum. This commitment will be increased to a 30% reduction over the same period if a global deal is reached.
EU Renewable Energy targets
The European Union (EU) has said that 20% of all energy usage (electricity, heat and transport) across the EU should come from renewable sources by 2020. Each country within the Union has a different target depending on its renewable energy resource and current levels of renewable energy production.
In 2008 the UK only generated around 2.25% of its energy from renewable sources. Its 2020 target is 15% – almost a seven fold increase in a decade – and the most ambitious growth target of any EU Member State.
That's why the Feed in Tariffs - launched by government in April 2010 - have ben regarded as so important. In effect, they provide a subsidy to renewables like solar so that they become more affordable and more widespread. The moment you have volume orders, then costs start to come down and then the subsidy isn't needed anymore.
Around 27% of the UK’s carbon emissions come from the residential sector – from the energy we use to heat and power our homes. So the more homes that can be encouraged to adopt solar, the better. And that's not just because the homes with solar save money. What happens is that the solar installations have the effect of encouraging whole communities to start thinking differently about energy ....... and so everyone could be saving money.
Government cuts to the solar subsidy
Sadly, government is proposing through a 'consultation' to make an early cut of 50% to the solar subsidy with an effective date of December 12th 2011. This has taken the industry by surprise and there are a number of campaigns to encourage the government to move to a more appropriate date next year when homeowners with solar on order will be able to be installed, and when companies with stock on order can have had time to sell it without significant losses.
The result of the consultation is likely to be mid/late January. HomeSun is advising anyone thinking of buying solar PV from 12th December that the subsidy is completely unknown until the result of the consultation, and they would be buying on the basis of an unknown return.
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