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NEWS
Call for more
detail on
emissions
roadmap
The government has expressed
its displeasure at a lack of
commitment by the EU to new
emissions targets and how they
should be reached.
In March the EU released a
low carbon roadmap, stating
that emissions need to be
reduced by at least 80% by the
middle of the century. However,
the UK government has called
for Europe to ‘raise its sights’,
stating that there has been
no detail published on how to
achieve those goals.
In a letter to the Guardian, UK
Energy Secretary Chris Huhne,
along with six counterparts
from around Europe, stated:
‘Now is the right time to discuss
the most cost-effective route
to achieving our 2050 goals,
maximising growth, jobs and
prosperity throughout Europe.
We are not starting from
scratch; by 2009, the EU had
already cut emissions by 17%
from 1990 levels.
‘We call on all member
states to enter into this urgent
debate on Europe’s future and
agree how the roadmap is
put into action – ensuring that
Europe gets to the front of this
low-carbon race, rather than
falling behind.’
Businesses ‘should
stop wasting energy’
Energy effi ciency in the private
sector can save businesses
£6bn a year, cut carbon and
safeguard UK fuel security,
according to a report by
Carbon Connect, a coalition of
businesses and environmental
organisations.
Wasting energy already
costs British businesses £6bn
a year, and the energy
watchdog Ofgem says that
prices could rise by as much as
40% over the next decade.
The country’s 4.8m small
businesses are particularly
well placed to make savings,
the report says. The authors
say that the report, Energy
Effi ciency – The Untapped
Business Opportunity, has
cross-parliamentary party
approval, as well as backing
from across the private sector.
www.policyconnect.org.uk/cc
12
Government to pay for
green teen training
● Employers and sector skills councils to
design new apprenticeship frameworks
One thousand green apprenticeships are to be created
as part of the government’s plans to move towards a
more sustainable economy.
The government will pay for the cost of training
16 to 18 year-olds, while it will share the cost for those
aged 19 or over with businesses including British Gas
and B&Q.
It is hoped the plan will allow the apprentices to
become experts in the installation of solid wall and
cavity wall insulation, as well as more energy effi cient
heating systems in homes and businesses.
Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne said the
Green Deal initiative, of which the apprenticeships are
a part, is capable of sustaining 100,000 jobs within
fi ve years as part of a ‘step change’ towards wider use
of energy-saving technology.
He said: To succeed, we will need a big injection
of skills and investment. These apprenticeships are a
perfect example of how government and businesses
can work together towards a low carbon future.’
For the initiative, employers and sector skills
councils will design new apprenticeship frameworks
and revise existing ones, for workers to be trained or
re-trained with the skills required.
READY, STEADY, LIGHT!
This year’s Ready Steady Light event saw 11 teams competing for three
awards to design an exterior lighting scheme in just 180 minutes at
Rose Bruford College in Sidcup. Each team was randomly assigned a
location on the campus and given a set of lighting equipment, before
being told to ‘return to basics’ by lighting the site in its natural state
without using props. Organising body, the Society of Light and Lighting
(SLL), presented the Technical Award to Behind
the Principal – YLP (main picture). The Artistic
Award was given to the ‘Old House’–
Bartlett 2 (top right). The Peer Prize
went to the ‘Old Courtyard’ –
DPA Oxford (bottom right).
www.sll.org.uk
More training is pledged for 16 to 18 year-olds
The Department of Energy and Climate Change
will work with the sector to set out new standards for
green deal installers and will encourage employers to
take on new trainees and up-skill their existing staff.
In addition, DECC will also offer concessions on
the Green Deal installer registration fees for those
organisations that take on young people.
CIBSE Journal April 2011 www.cibsejournal.com
Photos: Liz Peck