7th Carbon Budget - Section 10 Matters
Dear Committee on Climate Change,
Section 10 of the Climate Change Act 2008 calls for the Secretary of State and the CCC to take into account inter alia the economic, fiscal and social circumstances when giving advice to the Government. Data published by the Government last September shows we already have the highest industrial and domestic electricity prices in the IEA which is undoubtedly having a significant social impact and on economic competitiveness, taxes are at a record high, debt to GDP is close to 100% and we are running a large fiscal deficit. I would like to request that you release the evidence you used to take account of the economic, fiscal and social circumstances of the country when you compiled your advice to ensure these poor circumstances will not be made worse by implementing your advice.
Yours faithfully,
David Turver
Dear David,
Please find attached our response to your request.
Kind regards,
Climate Change Committee
Dear Committee on Climate Change,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Committee on Climate Change's handling of my FOI request '7th Carbon Budget - Section 10 Matters'.
I asked specifically about how you had taken into account our already high energy prices, high taxes, debt to GDP ratio and fiscal deficits. The supplementary research on the impact on groups with protected characteristics that you referred me to does not address the question I asked as it just focuses on the proportion of income taken by energy bills for these different groups. As far as I can tell, the other economic analysis elsewhere in the report does not address the question I asked either.
I would therefore request that you release any material you have relating to the question I asked.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/7...
Yours faithfully,
David Turver
Dear David,
An internal review of the request and the response issued by the CCC using relevant guidance from the Information Commissioner's Office has been completed which concluded that it was appropriate to engage the exemption available under section 21 of the FOIA.
We would like to clarify that a wide range of economic data was considered during the preparation of the Seventh Carbon Budget Advice report. A list of all data sources considered is not held and is therefore not available for release. In order to provide assistance we are able to refer the requester to the sections of the report we consider most relevant to their request which are:
Chapter 2 - describes the overall methodological approach to developing the Balanced Pathway and provides the basis for the recommendation on the level of the Seventh Carbon Budget. This includes Section 2.2.3, which summarises how matters the CCC is required to consider under the Climate Change Act have been taken into account.
Chapter 4 - presents an assessment of the costs and benefits of the Balanced Pathway. This chapter concludes that the overall cost of delivering the pathway is around 0.2% of GDP, with the majority of the required investment expected to come from the private sector.
Specific relevant aspects of this chapter include:
Section 4.1.4 - setting out the approach to estimating fiscal impacts.
Section 4.1.5 - explains that an assessment of the costs of doing nothing has not been undertaken, but that evidence suggests these costs are likely to be higher than the estimated cost of the transition.
Section 4.3 - details the assessment of the fiscal implications of the Balanced Pathway. In particular, this section includes an estimate of the public expenditure required to meet the pathway and discusses potential impacts on tax receipts.
Sections 7.2 and 7.3 - describe the pathways for residential buildings and industry. In both sectors, the importance of making electricity cheaper to drive decarbonisation action is highlighted. Related is Section 5.4, which sets out that the first key action required from the Government is to make electricity cheaper.
Chapter 9 - this chapter presents an assessment of some of the economic impacts of the pathway. It observes that the long-term effects on GDP are uncertain, but are likely to be either positive of if negative smaller than the macroeconomic costs of unmitigated climate change. This chapter also explores the potential impacts on different sectors of the economy, concluding that these impacts will not be significant for most sectors. Government support may be needed in a small number of sectors that face upfront cost barriers to decarbonise.
Kind regards,
Climate Change Committee
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