20th June 2006The Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Bill today passed its final Parliamentary stage and will become law when it receives Royal Assent tomorrow. The passage of this Private Members Bill promoted by Labour/Co-op MP Mark Lazarowicz represents a significant boost to the microgeneration industry, and is expected to help bring widespread consumer-based production of sustainable energy closer to reality. The Bill is backed by all the major environmental and fuel poverty NGOs and all the relevant trade associations, acting through the Sustainable Energy Partnership. One of the largest Private Members Bills ever, the Bill will sweep aside some of the barriers to the uptake of microgeneration and bring in wide ranging policies for its promotion. Bryan Gray, Vice-President of the Micropower Council said: “We are delighted that the Bill will become law and play its part in helping deliver low cost, easily available micropower for all. This, together with the other initiatives announced in the Government’s microgeneration strategy and the additional ?50m in the Budget, will be a significant boost to the confidence needed to bring about vital investment in the industry. Together these measures should help to move micropower into the mainstream by bringing down prices and making life much easier for consumers to play their part in tackling climate change. We thank all MPs and Peers involved in the Bill’s passage, especially the Bill’s promoter Mark Lazarowicz MP, his colleague Dr Alan Whitehead MP, Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks MP, Lord Whitty and opposition spokesman Gregory Barker MP for their considerable work in passing this important new Act of Parliament”. Mark Lazarowicz MP, the promoter of the Bill said: “This Bill will give a big boost to householders and local groups who want to install renewable energy in their own houses and communities. Small scale renewable energy - microgeneration - can make a significant contribution to the UK's energy needs. It is clear, from the thousands of people who have contacted me during the course of this Bill, that this technology has captured the public's interest. It is now up to industry, local authorities and central government to respond to the public demand”. Andrew Warren, Director of the Association for the Conservation of Energy (ACE) said: “We are delighted that this Bill has now reached the statute book. The provisions for stronger enforcement of building regulations in particular will strengthen the marketplace giving greater confidence to the energy efficiency industry. This is an excellent day which represents another step towards turning ours into a low carbon economy”. Martyn Williams, Senior Parliamentary Campaigner, Friends of the Earth said: “This is an important step forwarding in boosting microgeneration in this country. The Government must now follow the lead set by Mark Lazarowicz MP and go further by introducing new legislation to ensure that the Government establishes a clear framework for cutting carbon dioxide emissions, as proposed by the Big Ask campaign. We need a legal framework if we are going to successfully tackle climate change.” Ron Bailey, Partnership Organiser of the Sustainable Energy Partnership said: “Only a year ago the idea of microgeneration targets, permitted development orders, dynamic demand, community energy and involving over 400 principal councils and 10,000 parish councils in measures to conserve and even generate energy would have seemed fanciful. But the political agenda has now changed - because of the tireless action of the unsung heroes: the tens of thousands of citizens who lobbied, campaigned, hassled and harried. Microgeneration is about people power – it has been put on the map by people power. Those people are now keen to see the next steps: a national decentralized energy strategy that renders old style power stations gushing out CO2 obsolete. They will not rest until that is achieved”. NOTES:
For further details: Jane Vaus, Head of Media and External Affairs, Micropower Council, 020 7924 0795/077480 10447 Further details: |
