The UN’s chief environment scientist has rapped the UK on the wrist for its current renewable energy policy, calling it perverse.
In an interview with BBC News, Professor Jacqueline McGlade, the Chief Scientist to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), criticized the current Government’s stance towards renewable energy, and noted that the current state of the industry sent a worrying signal to those who will be attending the UN climate summit in Paris next month.
The UK Government is in the process of rolling back several renewable energy support policies, including the popular and successful Renewables Obligation scheme for onshore wind. A number of campaigns and organizations have reprimanded and criticized the UK for such actions, including a joint letter signed by ministers from both Scotland and Wales calling for the UK Government to open discussion into its support for renewable energy.
Speaking to BBC News, Professor McGlade said that the UK has abandoned its leadership on climate change at the same time as 150 nations were making major shifts towards clean energy.
“What I’m seeing worldwide is a move very much towards investment in renewable energy. To counterbalance that you see the withdrawal of subsidies and tax breaks for fossil fuels,” Professor McGlade said. “What’s disappointing is when we see countries such as the United Kingdom that have really been in the lead in terms of getting their renewable energy up and going — we see subsidies being withdrawn and the fossil fuel industry being enhanced.”
This is sending the wrong message to other nations in the lead-up to the Paris UN summit next month, she said, adding that “It’s a very serious signal — a very perverse signal that we do not want to create.”
Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!
Have a tip for CleanTechnica, want to advertise, or want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
Former Tesla Battery Expert Leading Lyten Into New Lithium-Sulfur Battery Era — Podcast:
I don't like paywalls. You don't like paywalls. Who likes paywalls? Here at CleanTechnica, we implemented a limited paywall for a while, but it always felt wrong — and it was always tough to decide what we should put behind there. In theory, your most exclusive and best content goes behind a paywall. But then fewer people read it! We just don't like paywalls, and so we've decided to ditch ours. Unfortunately, the media business is still a tough, cut-throat business with tiny margins. It's a never-ending Olympic challenge to stay above water or even perhaps — gasp — grow. So ...
