On 3 October 2008, the UK Government announced that it will establish of a new department focused on the issues of climate change and energy security. Headed up by Ed Miliband, the Department of Energy and Climate Change merges the Climate Change Group, previously housed within the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with the Energy Group from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR). Ministers hope that the move will provide more focus on climate change and energy security, both of which are growing in prominence and are of major importance to UK business.
Environmental and business groups have largely welcomed the announcement. Recent research by the University of Newcastle's Ian Fells thrust energy security and its impact on business into the limelight, claiming that without action on energy security the UK's economy could collapse.
Although some ministers and environmental groups have dismissed the report as overstated and naive, few can deny that energy security and climate change are both issues that should be at the top of the agenda. The creation of the new Government department gives a clear message that these concerns are being taken more seriously by the Government, with Miliband explaining that the department "reflects the fact that energy policy and climate change are directly linked".
Jonathon Porritt, chairman of the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC), has highlighted a number of benefits of joining of the two departments, including the provision of "infinitely better coordination on both policy and implementation". He says that this was an impossible feat when there was a split between the departments, but that the newly established department should prove much harder-hitting. According to Porritt, it will also act as an authoritative sponsoring department for other related organisations including The Carbon Trust.
Another benefit Porritt hopes to see emerge from the new department is better control of OFGEM, the UK regulator of the electricity and natural gas markets in Great Britian, to make sure that it "plays its part in delivering a low-carbon economy for the UK".
Rebecca Willis, vice chair of the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC), says that the move is welcome and adds that the Commission has been pushing for such collaboration for some time. "This change will make it far easier to make joined-up decisions in an area which is crucial for the UK and the world," she says. "By making the right sustainable energy choices, we can tackle energy security and climate change together and we look forward to working with Ed Miliband to see this happen."
Business organisations have also widely welcomed the decision as they hope it will lead to more emphasis on how these issues may affect industry in the future. Dr Neil Bentley, director of business environment at the Confederation of British Industry, says that both climate change and energy security are "vital national interests" and require the Government's fullest attention and urgent action. He adds: "Combining them may help identify both synergies and trade-offs, but we must avoid either one becoming subordinate to the other."
Smaller firms are also feeling optimistic about the Department of Energy and Climate Change, hoping it will provide small enterprises with much-needed support. The Federation of Small Business’ Nyree Connell describes the news as very positive and adds that it will give the Government an opportunity to take into account more of the issues that small businesses face in relation to energy. "The Carbon Trust is really aimed at larger firms and the Energy Savings Trust gives advice to householders," she says. "This is a whole area in which small businesses have not been taken into account."
Connell also feels that the new department may even be able to offer more targeted advice for small businesses. "At the moment, there is not much out there to help small businesses with energy management. This is something which is particularly important considering the current economic climate."
Nick Butler, chairman of the Cambridge Centre for Energy Studies at Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, explains that policies on energy security and climate change go well together. "We should be aiming for an energy mix which is more diverse and which over time is progressively lower in carbon content." He adds: "Business is ready to respond to this challenge but the absence of clear policy guidelines at the European level is discouraging investment."
The establishment of the Department of Energy and Climate Change is widely being viewed as a step in the right direction. It seems political policy is changing across the board, as the Conservative Party has also recently front bench posts of shadow climate change minister and a shadow energy minister. It seems that climate change will remain at the top of the political agenda, or, as Stephen Hale, director of green business coalition at the Green Alliance says, these recent developments "put climate change where it belongs - with its own seat at the cabinet table".
