UK 'to miss renewable energy targets without urgent action'

Britain is set to miss its renewable energy targets by the end of the decade, MPs have warned.

The UK has a target to meet 15% of its energy needs from green sources by 2020, including 30% of electricity, 12% of heat and 10% in transport.

The electricity sector is on course to meet its expected contribution to the target but energy used in transport and for heating homes and buildings is well behind what is needed, a report from the Energy and Climate Change Committee said.

Committee chairman Angus MacNeil said: "The experts we spoke to were clear: the UK will miss its 2020 renewable energy targets without major policy improvements.

"Failing to meet these would damage the UK's reputation for climate change leadership. The Government must take urgent action on heat and transport to renew its efforts on decarbonisation."

Ministers must raise the cap for the percentage of transport fuels coming from biofuels, and consider reintroducing a system of vehicle excise duties which restores incentives for electric cars and other ultra-low emissions vehicles, the report said.

The renewable target is a legally binding commitment set by the European Commission.

Britain could be fined by the Commission if it misses the target, although Britain's decision earlier this year to leave the EU means the status of such targets is unclear.

However, MPs said a lack of clarity should not deter the country from trying to meet the goal.

"We agreed our 2020 renewable energy targets as part of the EU but they still have many merits, even as the UK Government prepares for Brexit," Mr MacNeil said.

"If the UK reneges on these targets, it will undermine confidence in the Government's commitment to clean energy and the climate targets agreed in Paris."

A Government spokesman said renewable energy "already makes up around 25% of our electricity and we're on track to hit our overall targets".

"The latest Climate Change Performance Index shows the UK is the second best country in the world on tackling climate change," he added.

Last year, more than 190 countries agreed at climate talks in Paris to limit increases in global temperatures to well below 2C.

Britain has been seen as a leader in efforts to fight climate change and has a domestic target to cut emissions by 80% compared with 1990 levels by 2050.