黑洞社区

Being a Liberal Democrat secretary of state for climate change in a Tory-led coalition government cannot be the easiest brief. In post for a little under 18 months Ed Davey has already had to to face a number of challenges. In May, he watered down commitments on the amount of electricity to be generated from renewable sources (under pressure from the Treasury). He had already had climate change sceptic John Hayes appointed to his department by prime minister David Cameron. He even suffered the indignity of having his choice for the department鈥檚 permanent secretary - sustainability champion David Kennedy - blocked, again by Cameron.  

Does he concede that things have not worked out quite as his party might have hoped? Not a bit of it. 鈥淭his government is and will be the greenest ever,鈥� he says, echoing the prime minister鈥檚 infamous Rose Garden pledge - and goes on to list a series of environmental achievements, from the Green Investment Bank, the launch of the Green Deal, and the ongoing investment in railways.

But since 2010, those in the construction industry hoping for government leadership on sustainability have seen a series of policy U-turns and delays - on feed-in tariffs, Display Energy Certificates (DEC) and zero-carbon housing - and increasingly ambivalent rhetoric from some parts of the government over the importance of tackling climate change. Capping it all has been the delayed and uncertain introduction of the government鈥檚 flagship domestic retrofit programme, the Green Deal, during which time the installation of cavity wall insulation has plummeted by 97%.

A recent YouGov poll found that just 2% of the public believe the government has met its pledge to be the greenest ever. So will Davey be able to tackle his coalition critics, repair the problematic Green Deal, and convince industry sceptics that the government is serious about promoting green growth?

Going green

I meet Davey in Sutton, south-west London, as he is about to join construction apprentices for an afternoon at Carshalton College. Students are learning the skills necessary for servicing a low-carbon construction industry, such as solar panel installation and energy efficiency retro-fitting - key skills for the future UK construction industry, if he has his way. The 47-year-old Nottingham-born and Oxford-educated politician is both polite and polished, and disarmingly free of the ranks of The Thick of It-style advisers and media managers so often in tow when cabinet ministers descend to Earth. So when he hesitates over whether or not to wear a tie for the photos, there is no Malcolm Tucker on hand to manage his image strategy. Still, the quick-fire, well-honed responses to the interview questions leave me with the uncomfortable feeling that, at 1.30pm, I鈥檓 the one thing standing between the secretary of state and lunch.

Davey is also in Carshalton to promote a Liberal Democrat campaign to create one million jobs, a strategy in which apprenticeships form just one part. The campaign鈥檚 main focus, he says, is ensuring that the UK takes advantage of the opportunities created by the country鈥檚 energy needs. First there鈥檚 the need to replace its ageing energy generation capacity with low-carbon alternatives, and then there鈥檚 the small matter of retrofitting the existing built environment for a low carbon future. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a massive opportunity that we have to take - we have to take it because 20% of our power stations are closing in the next 10 years, so we鈥檝e got to invest because we鈥檝e got to keep the lights on.

鈥淚f we go down the green route, as I鈥檓 pushing as a Liberal Democrat minister in government, we鈥檒l have more secure energy, [and] we won鈥檛 be so exposed to high and volatile fossil fuel prices. These are very strong economic arguments, very strong value for money arguments, very strong affordability arguments, for going green.鈥�

Like all politicians, Davey is quick to get into a flow of rhetoric, and evidently enjoys relaxing into lists of UK opportunities and coalition achievements. Certainly, he appears relaxed for a man whose flagship retrofit policy, the Green Deal, which launched three months late in January this year, is perceived to be in real trouble. The latest figures show just 36 Green Deal agreements have been signed, next to a public target of reaching 10,000 by the end of the year, and no work has been completed despite a target of creating 65,000 jobs. This is despite the fact that government and local authority programmes have actually funded many assessments. Furthermore, questions have been raised in the last month over the scheme鈥檚 basic premise - that users will be able to pay back the full cost of retrofit work through lower electricity bills.

We鈥檙e creating the world鈥檚 first-ever low carbon electricity market

But Davey is bullish, pointing out that the public response to the programme has actually been unexpectedly strong, with over 44,000 assessments undertaken, 鈥減robably more than most people expected鈥�, a figure he says demonstrates demand. With four-fifths of those who have carried out assessments telling the Department of Energy & Climate Change researchers that they either have or will undertake some form of retrofit work, he says it is merely a matter of time before this translates into actual work on the ground. 鈥淚鈥檝e had my assessment,鈥� he says, to exemplify the problem, 鈥渂ut I haven鈥檛 acted on it yet, because I鈥檝e been a bit busy. But I鈥檓 going to act on it.鈥�

So is he confident of meeting the 10,000-home target? 鈥淚 think so, yes,鈥� he says - but implies it might not be met directly through the Green Deal finance package itself. 鈥淪eventy-eight per cent [of people who undertook assessments] have either had work done, are in the process of getting the work done, or intend to get the work done. [But] that doesn鈥檛 mean they鈥檙e all going to go down the Green Deal finance route.

鈥淭he Green Deal is not just about finance; it鈥檚 about assessment, it鈥檚 about having a framework that people and industry can trust in to help people understand what the opportunities are in their homes to save money. A lot of people are either financing it themselves or using ECO [the Energy Company Obligation]. Now is that a success or failure? It鈥檚 a success.鈥�

Teething problems

In the meantime he puts the plummeting insulation installation figures down to an expected 鈥渄ifficult transition period鈥�.

But his optimism is not completely unqualified. He admits to 鈥渢eething problems鈥�, particularly around IT and the finance agreements, the first of which were delayed until May. 鈥淭here鈥檚 not been very many plans written, let鈥檚 be honest,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut let鈥檚 understand why that is. There鈥檚 been a delay in getting the Green Deal Finance Company and Green Deal providers to make their legal agreements, and then there were a few IT issues that had to be dealt with.

鈥淪o yes, there have been some teething problems, and I鈥檝e been as candid and frank as I can be. But people shouldn鈥檛 lose heart because it鈥檚 happening, the assessments are going out the door, ECO鈥檚 going out the door, the supply chains are building up.鈥�

In that vein he doesn鈥檛 rule out introducing further measures to stimulate demand in the future, as called for by 黑洞社区鈥檚 Green for Growth campaign, but says the number of assessments being undertaken means this is not his current priority. Instead, he insists, some of the problems are actually the industry鈥檚 to sort out. He issues a challenge to the construction sector to expand its capacity to install solid wall insulation - one of the key target areas of the Green Deal. Providers who geared up to deliver Green Deal work for its original launch date, may look sceptically upon that call. 鈥淭he demand for Green Deal, which people thought would be a problem, isn鈥檛 proving a problem. But the supply for some things that people are wanting is not there.

鈥淚f you look at the figures [鈥�] we鈥檙e not seeing enough people who are out there offering solid wall insulation. I know there are some, but in terms of the build-up we want to see, we do get [鈥�] quite a lot people who cannot access green deal installers providing solid wall [insulation].

鈥淲e鈥檙e monitoring the Green Deal extremely closely, day by day. We have to exercise the judgment of Solomon because鈥� the judgment is how much do you push demand if supply isn鈥檛 there.鈥�
Certainly construction is an industry of which Davey can claim to have some knowledge. MP for Kingston and Surbiton since 1997, he spent three years shadowing John Prescott鈥檚 department from 2002. He was promoted from a junior ministerial post at the business department to become energy and climate change secretary after predecessor Chris Huhne was charged with perverting the course of justice in February last year. In June he hit out at 鈥渂linkered鈥� climate change sceptics in the Tory press who he said were 鈥済iving an uncritical campaigning platform to individuals and lobby groups鈥�, in a speech widely interpreted as a dig at his Tory coalition partners for a lack of enthusiasm on green issues.

So does he have the support of the whole government for backing green growth? 鈥淚鈥檓 not going to pretend that every green issue that comes up we鈥檝e agreed on. But the outcome of this [debate] has been a very green outcome,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he chancellor, the prime minister, the deputy prime minister all realise that energy is the huge opportunity, and the whole government鈥檚 come behind my policies.鈥�

The Green Deal is not just about finance; it鈥檚 about assessment, it鈥檚 about having a framework that people and industry can trust in to help people understand what the opportunities are

But is he not disturbed by chancellor George Osborne鈥檚 open lack of enthusiasm, telling the Conservative Party conference that 鈥渁 decade of environmental laws and regulations and regulations are piling costs 鈥� on households and companies,鈥� and that there was no point 鈥渟aving the planet鈥� if it put the UK out of business? Davey responds: 鈥淚鈥檝e no problem with the Treasury asking tough questions, that鈥檚 their job. And I also have no problem when the chancellor said we don鈥檛 want to price British carbon intensive companies abroad - that鈥檚 called carbon leakage.鈥�

But he can鈥檛 resist emphasising the Lib Dems鈥� role in keeping the government honest on sustainability. 鈥淲e are massively increasing our incentives for renewables. We鈥檙e creating the world鈥檚 first-ever low carbon electricity market.

I could go on. These are things Labour never did. The Conservatives before them never did. They鈥檙e happening because the greenest party in British politics, the Liberal Democrats, is part of a government.鈥�

When I remind Davey that the government鈥檚 own Low Carbon Routemap for the built environment, launched at EcoBuild earlier this year, concluded that the policy and regulatory environment was not yet in place to meet the government鈥檚 legally binding carbon targets, he simply counters that 鈥渨e are on course to meet our targets,鈥� rejecting the idea that further measures are required. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got the right policies, there鈥檚 no doubt about that. Don鈥檛 tell me we鈥檙e not doing great stuff.鈥�

The reality of coalition politics means Davey has to defend the government鈥檚 record even where the Lib Dems haven鈥檛 secured the measures they would ideally like. The real record is one of compromise - there are many successful green measures, and the Green Deal still has the potential to become, in Davey鈥檚 words, 鈥渙ver the next two decades the most significant energy-efficiency measure ever鈥�. But this progress is being tempered by an instinctively de-regulatory Treasury and political pressure from Tory grassroots over wind farms and rising energy bills. Davey may have to go further to convince an industry keen to see a trajectory of green growth that the coalition means business.