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WQ.217/2018
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
BY DEPUTY R.J. WARD OF ST. HELIER
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 23rd OCTOBER 2018
Question
Given that the recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C', indicated 12 years remain to reduce carbon emissions significantly before global warming could reach irreversible levels, will the Minister –
- commit to making this issue an agenda item at all meetings of the Council of Ministers to ensure it is given priority and urgent attention;
- outline the measures currently being taken to reduce the Island's carbon emissions; and
- detail any future plans to make Jersey a world leader in renewable energy or, if there are no such plans, explain the lack of planning?
Answer
- & (b)
Our officer team and I are currently considering the latest IPCC report in the context of the Island's agreed emissions reduction plan - Pathway 2050: An Energy Plan for Jersey (P.38/2014[1]). The Energy Plan outlines all the policies and actions to reduce Jersey's Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 80% on 1990 baseline levels by 2050[2].
The delivery of the Energy Plan is overseen by the Jersey Energy Partnership[3], whose role it is to monitor and review the Energy Plan. The Partnership has two parts, a Ministerial Energy Executive, and a multi- stakeholder energy forum.
The Energy Executive is responsible for the ongoing monitoring of the actions as outlined in the Energy Plan. They review the delivery of the Plan and develop or commission new policy areas or actions accordingly.
The Energy Executive includes the following Ministers and their officers: Minister for the Environment (Chair), Minister for Economic Development, Tourism, Sport and Culture, Minister for Infrastructure, and Minister for Social Security, and therefore it is considered that there is sufficient Ministerial oversight for delivery of the plan. Where this is required the Executive will bring matters to the attention of the Council of Ministers (COM). Therefore, at the present time I do not consider it necessary to make climate change a standing item on all COM agendas.
Considerable work has been done to assess Jersey's potential for renewable energy generation, especially given the Island's large tidal range, offshore wind resource and sunshine hours (See Chapter 4 of Pathway 2050).
The aim of the Energy Plan is to deliver secure, affordable and sustainable energy. At the present time the costs involved in harvesting utility scale renewable energy for sale on-Island would cause energy costs to rise if we were to adopt current technologies. Until these costs reduce this would negatively impact on the affordability of energy for consumers. Taking into account the vital need to maintain a network infrastructure, even for micro renewables, at the present time most renewable energy options are likely to be equal or more expensive to produce than conventional forms of energy.
Jersey's current mix of electricity from France is certified as 65% nuclear and 35% renewable energy (hydro-electric from the La Rance tidal impoundment barrage[4]). Jersey's 35% renewable energy component of electricity, compares well with the UK, where 30% of their electricity generation was renewable in Q1 2018[5]. Therefore, Jersey's electricity supply is not only decarbonised (via the importation of nuclear energy), it also currently comprises a substantial proportion of renewable energy. As a percentage of all Jersey's energy use (Total Primary Energy Supply), our renewable component comprises 12.5%.
Whilst Jersey currently bench marks reasonably well against other places, it is essential that we do more to increase renewable energy use in future years and recognise that our current security and affordability of supply may not be guaranteed in the future.
The costs of generating renewable energy of all types can be expected to fall as technology improves, whilst the costs of traditional energy sources will increase. The Council of Minister's Proposed Common Strategic Policy 2018-2022 has made a commitment to establishing our policy on renewable energy at the utility and domestic scales with the intention of creating a more sustainable supply'. Therefore, I will fully support our joint efforts towards switching to more renewable energy both from a sustainability perspective but also from a security of supply perspective when affordability is less prohibitive.
Concurrently with our policy development work in 2019, we will also consider opportunities as they arise in this fast moving situation.