Thinking Green: Ed Miliband at the Environment Agency Conference

But after seven weeks in this job, after seven weeks in which we committed ourselves to an 80 per cent cut in greenhouse emissions, I am more aware than ever of the scale of the challenge that remains.

Next week, Lord Turner is going to give his independent committee’s recommendations on carbon budgets, again a world first. Our task will be to use those as an opportunity not just to meet our targets, but change the way we do things in Government at all levels.

In a world with carbon budgets, every important decision will have to made on the basis of whether it fits the budget, whether emissions savings can be made elsewhere or whether it simply can’t be done.

And we need to see changes reflected across all areas of policy.

For low carbon energy, we will have to use all the technologies at our disposal, from renewables to nuclear to carbon capture and storage, and picking up the pace cannot be left to energy companies alone.

That is why I announced that we would consult on a guaranteed price to feed renewable power into the grid, for projects up to 5MW because I recognise we need to do a lot more to involve everyone in the process – individuals, local communities, schools and hospitals.

And, in particular, I am clear the public sector needs to do more: at the moment, the public sector owns 10 per of the land and generates only one per cent of renewable power.

That is why our Partnership for Renewables with the Environment Agency is so important. At the moment there are plans to develop 500 MW of power, but we can be far more ambitious since there is the capacity for four times as much.

It requires public sector leaders to be brave and see the opportunities. This will generate energy they can use and income, showing the public sector taking a lead in doing something we all will benefit from; tackling dangerous climate change.

Of course, not all of the land owned by the public sector is suitable for the current renewable technologies of wind and biomass, but as other technologies develop more public land could be used to build a low carbon economy.

We must do more not just to help households save energy but get their heat from low carbon sources – and that is why we are introducing for the first time a renewable heat incentive.

On transport, [we must do more] to encourage greener forms of transport, from electric cars to high-speed rail.

And we understand that aviation is an issue of paramount importance. That is why we have successfully argued that from 2013, we should for the first time put a cap on carbon emissions, which we are doing in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.

And I can promise we are looking carefully at all the issues involved in Heathrow’s third runway, including air quality, before making a decision.

And we are clear that having legislated, again for the first time, to take account of aviation in our targets through the Climate Change Bill, any growth in emissions in aviation will have to be made up by deeper cuts elsewhere.

Some have already argued that in tough economic times, we should retreat from our climate change objectives.

But now is precisely not the time to row back.

Just as taking action to stave off recession now will save money later, so the central lesson of the Stern report is that the sooner we act on climate change, the lower the costs we will face down the road.

In the pre-Budget report, the Chancellor took more steps to help the economy and help the environment.

Whether it is extra resources to insulate homes, accelerating the delivery of up to 200 new rail carriages, spending on flood defences – all can make a contribution to keeping our economy going.
 
But this needs to be just the start. We need to ensure a green upturn.

And the Government is clear that this will require an active approach to industrial policy.

Lord Stern was also very clear that setting a carbon price is important but not enough to guarantee a move to green jobs.

Take carbon capture and storage. At this stage, individual companies don’t have sufficient incentives on their own to invest on a commercial scale, because there is no guarantee of success.

That is why we have said that we are supporting carbon capture and storage demonstration projects, including through the European Union.

But I know we need to do a lot more in this area.

We may be leaders in offshore wind, but it is still the case that Britain is not benefitting enough from the potential for jobs in this area and that is why our new Office for Renewable Development will help grow our renewable industries to become world-leaders in these emerging technologies.

And to ensure we can create a green recovery in the UK, we will be producing a low carbon industrial strategy in the spring to show how Britain can take advantage of the green opportunities that will be available in our economy.

So to live up to our promise on climate change, as a department and as a country, we need pace and we need our policy to be consistent with a progressive vision that can take people with us.

But our aims cannot be achieved by government alone.
 
For a global deal, we need action not just by governments but people around the world.

We need people not just to come with us, but to push us for more.

We need popular pressure – pressure on me, on local councillors, on our public services and businesses.

And around the world, we need a global movement for a deal in Copenhagen.

I was aware of next year’s negotiations before I got this job but I didn’t feel it was really engraved as a red-letter month, in the same way as, say, the G8 meeting in Gleneagles. I would say the popular campaign for a deal has not yet found its full voice.

So let’s all of us, local authorities, businesses, NGOs, government, all in our different ways play a part in this crusade.

(This is an edited extract of Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Miliband’s speech at the Environment Agency conference in London on November 25)