Still conditions are ill wind for electricity generators

A SHORTAGE of wind caused carbon emissions from electricity to increase last year for the first time in almost a decade, a study has found.

A report by the International Energy Association (IEA) found that carbon emissions generated by the UK’S electricity industry last year were more than a fifth higher than in 2020.

A 17 per cent spike in use of gas was noted, because renewed demand when the peak of the pandemic had passed coincided with a lack of wind. Emissions of slightly more than 69million tons were recorded, the report said, up from slightly less than 57million tons in 2020.

“This was the first rise since 2012 and follows a decline in emissions of more than 70 per cent since the year 2000,” it added.

Despite plans to phase out coal to meet net zero targets, in September the UK burnt more of it, switching to meet demand as gas supplies from Europe receded in an unusually still summer.

The IEA said it expected UK emissions to fall again this year due to rising investment in wind power and the continued phase-out of coal.

The Government is under pressure to

tackle a cost of living crisis that could this year force millions of households to pay more than £2,000 in energy bills.

Despite growing investment in renewable energy, primarily wind, Britain remains reliant on gas for about 40 per cent of its electricity.

On Thursday, the Institute for Government,

a think tank, warned that momentum created by the Cop26 climate conference would “fizzle out” unless the Government urgently tackled the cost of living crisis.

Fatih Birol, the IEA’S executive director, said high electricity prices worldwide “risk becoming a driver of social and political tensions”.

He added: “Policy makers should be taking action now to soften the impacts on the most vulnerable and to address the underlying causes.

“Investment in low-carbon energy technologies, including renewables, energy efficiency and nuclear power … can help us get out of … difficulties.”

A further two million people could be pulled into fuel poverty when the energy price cap is removed in April, a coalition of 25 charities, including Age UK, Save the Children and the Campaign to Protect Rural England has warned the Prime Minister.

“It has written to Mr Johnson calling on the Government to help fund the insulation of homes, which could save the poorest households £500 per year, and a shift away from gas heating.

Energy bills are expected to rise by some £700 in the spring, leaving the average household paying £2,000 a year for fuel and increasing the number of people in fuel poverty to six million.