The government has signed the death warrant for another environmental scheme, this time the Green Deal energy-saving programme that ministers once called the biggest home improvement measure since the second world war. A day after moving to axe solar farm and woodchip power subsidies, Amber Rudd, the energy and climate change secretary, said the government was pulling funding for the finance company that delivers the Green Deal scheme, in order to “protect taxpayers”. –Pilita Clark, Financial Times, 24 July 2015
Households face cuts in “feed-in tariffs” for new solar panels on roofs under government plans to prevent subsidies for renewable energy spiralling out of control. Amber Rudd, the energy secretary, said the renewable energy industry could not be given a blank cheque and the level of subsidies should be reduced because of a fall in the cost of solar panels. Ms Rudd said: “We can’t have a situation where industry has a blank cheque paid for by people’s bills. I’m going to ensure that bills are kept down.” –Ben Webster, The Times, 23 July 2015
Left wing anti-capitalists have dictated the debate on tackling climate change and a Conservative approach is needed to prevent global warming, Amber Rudd, the energy and climate change secretary, will say on Friday. In her first major speech on the topic, Ms Rudd will say she can “understand the suspicion of those who see climate action as some sort of cover for anti-growth, anti-capitalist, proto-socialism”. “It cannot be left to one part of the political spectrum to dictate the solution and some of the loudest voices have approached the issue from a left-wing perspective,” she will say. Ms Rudd will attack green policies that encourage “permanent reliance on subsidy” and call instead for a market-based approach to dealing with climate change. –Emily Gosden, Daily Telegraph, 24 July 2015
The end of the Green Deal scheme is a victory for common sense, albeit an overdue one. The decision to end the Green Deal ‚Äì taken by Amber Rudd, the impressively sensible Energy Secretary ‚Äì has inevitably drawn complaints from so-called green groups, already unhappy about the withdrawal of subsidies from inefficient and unpopular energy sources like wind turbines and solar panels. The critics often talk about an environmentally sustainable energy regime, but overlook the fact the system must be fiscally sustainable too. Efficiency schemes, like renewable generators, will never be sustainable if they depend on public money. –Editorial, The Daily Telegraph, 24 July 2015
Ambitious plans to greatly boost renewable energy to cut carbon dioxide emissions have collided with political and economic reality in Britain, Germany and the US. The newly re-elected Conservative government of David Cameron has started to cut billions of pounds from renewable energy subsidies. For several weeks British newspapers, including The Financial Times, The Independent, The Times and The Daily Telegraph have detailed the Cameron government’s determination to stop runaway electricity prices and check green energy spending. –Graham Lloyd, The Australian, 23 July 2015
After the central government’s decision to freeze foreign NGO Greenpeace’s accounts, the final nail on the coffin is being put by Tamil Nadu Inspector of Registration’s office. The NGO that has been vocal about environmental issues has been under the govt’s scrutiny for quite sometime. And now the office of registration in Tamil Nadu has issued a show-cause notice for cancellation of its registration as a society. —Business Insider India, 23 July 2015
