Question

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact that remaining pre-accreditation from the feed-in tariff scheme will have on the United Kingdom’s ability to meet its climate change targets.

Even with the removal of pre-accreditation we are currently on track to deliver at least 30% of our electricity from renewable sources by 2020. In 2014, renewables’ share of electricity generation was 19.1% on an unadjusted basis.

The UK is also continuing to make progress towards the 2020 renewables target of 15% of final energy consumption from renewable sources. We are on track to meet the next interim target, which is an average of final energy consumption over 2013/14. The provisional figure, released on 25 June, showed 6.3% of final energy consumption for 2013/14 came from renewable sources, against a target level of 5.4%.

In order to meet the 2050 target (80% reduction on 1990 level) we know we will need significant cuts in emissions across all parts of the economy by 2050. We will need a balanced mix of low carbon technologies, including nuclear, Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and renewables, to help tackle the threat of climate change while keeping the lights on and ensuring the best value for consumers.