The Chancellor of the Exchequer's autumn statement, and his gas plan published alongside it, will be of particular interest to the energy sector, which could soon see an unexpected boost in gas production handed to them by the "greenest Government ever".
George Osborne announced to the House of Commons that the Government were "consulting on new tax incentives for shale gas". Shale gas is controversial because the fracking process to extract it involves pumping high-pressure water and chemically-treated sand into the shale rock, which can lead to polluted water supplies and earth tremors.
However, David Kennedy, chief executive of the Committee on Climate Change, said, "Early decarbonisation of the power sector should be plan A - and the dash for gas Plan Z."
The plan has also drawn heavy criticism from the environmental sector. Joss Garmin, political director at Greenpeace, said,"Over a third of the UK's economic growth in the last year came from the low-carbon sector. By ignoring this and instead offering incentives to the gas industry, George Osborne is undermining crucial green growth."
Likewise, a recent study from thinktank Cambridge Economics claimed that the UK economy would be £20bn a year better off by 2030 if investment were directed towards large-scale offshore wind projects rather than new gas power stations.
The Chancellor has also approved the building of over 30 new gas-fired power stations to replace the UK's ageing nuclear, coal and gas stations. This announcement comes, perhaps as a slight contradiction, in the wake of the publication of the new Energy Bill which aims to raise a levy from energy customers to pay for low-carbon energy infrastructure and which Energy Minister Ed Davey said would begin the UK's switch to a low-carbon economy. It is also difficult to see how such plans would enable the Government to achieve their commitment to limit carbon emissions set under the Climate Change Act 2008.
In a rather festive statement, Andy Atkins, executive director at Friends of the Earth, said, "The big polluters must think Christmas has come early - but if bad Santa Osborne's gas-fired energy strategy gets the go-ahead it will leave cash-strapped households and the environment with a thumping hangover for decades."
