26 November 2015
IChemE Energy Centre responds to Secretary of State plans for UK energy
Ahead of the COP21 talks in Paris, the Institution of Chemical Engineer’s (IChemE) Energy Centre Board has issued a response to Amber Rudd’s speech on UK energy policy. The board has raised concerns over Rudd’s bias towards cost-saving and security, demanding that more importance is placed on the issue of decarbonisation and climate change in its own right.
Rudd, secretary of state for energy and climate change, gave the speech on 18 November, asking, “How do we achieve an energy system that is secure; affordable; and clean?” The MP made it clear she wanted to abolish coal power by 2025, dubbing the energy source “the dirtiest fossil fuel”.
The initiative received a strong reaction from the public via social media, however IChemE's Energy Centre Board have been quick to point out that the gradual closure of coal-fired power plants has been in progress for some time. The Board were supportive of Rudd’s conditions around the initiative, which stipulate coal would only be abolished if a sufficient number of new gas-fired plants were implemented before 2025.
Throughout the speech Rudd called on energy security to become the UK’s number one priority. The statement has been seen as a poor decision by the Energy Centre Board, in light of the upcoming COP21 climate change talks in Paris.
In the response document it asks, “What has happened to the courage and leadership shown in the 2008 Climate Change Act?” – a question which demands a braver and more impactful response to the UK energy crisis. The Board also deemed Rudd’s claims that “we don’t have all the answers to decarbonisation today” as “profoundly untrue".
The Energy Centre concluded the response with the view that Rudd’s speech offered a “limited vision of the 2027 energy system in the UK" – as throughout the speech Rudd did not focus on renewable energy sources.
However the Board were in agreement with Rudd’s comments that "energy research and development has been neglected in recent years", and called for increased support from the UK government in terms of research support.
Stef Simons, Chair of the Energy Centre Board, will be giving a presentation on 10 December, at a COP21 side event in Paris, France.
Related links
IChemE Energy Centre
Amber Rudd’s speech – 18 November 2015
The IChemE Energy Centre Board’s response to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change’s speech
Notes to media
For more information please contact:
Tara Wilson, PR and communication manager, IChemE
tel: +44 (0) 1788 534454
email: twilson@icheme.org
About chemical engineers
Chemical, biochemical and process engineering is the application of science, maths and economics to the process of turning raw materials into everyday products. Professional chemical engineers design, construct and manage process operations all over the world. Oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, food and drink, synthetic fibres and clean drinking water are just some of the products where chemical engineering plays a central role.
About IChemE
The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) is the global professional membership organisation for people with relevant experience or an interest in chemical engineering. With a growing global membership of over 42,000, the Institution is at the heart of the process community, promoting competence and a commitment to best practice, advancing the discipline for the benefit of society, encouraging young people in science and engineering and supporting the professional development of its members. IChemE is the only organisation to award Chartered Chemical Engineer and Professional Process Safety Engineer status.
About the IChemE Energy Centre
Launched in March 2015, the IChemE Energy Centre provides the chemical and process engineering community with a coherent voice on energy policy issues.
The IChemE Energy Centre is a forum for the chemical and process engineering community to provide decision makers around the world with expert advice on energy issues, while highlighting the role of chemical engineers in meeting the energy challenges that society faces.
IChemE members work across the energy space: from developing new sources of energy, moving it to where it’s needed, improving the efficiency of the processes that use it, and mitigating the environmental effects of its production and consumption. The systems-thinking approach of chemical engineers has a lot to offer to the energy challenges of the 21st century.
Examples of how chemical engineers are responding to the climate challenge can be found on the ChemEng blog.
More information about the IChemE Energy Centre can be found at www.icheme.org/energycentre.