ROYAL COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION, STUDY OF ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT INVITATION TO SUBMIT EVIDENCE

In August 1997 the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution announced its intention to review energy prospects for the 21st century and their environmental implications. The aim of this study is to identify the actions required in the years immediately ahead in order to develop a sustainable strategy for energy provision and use. The Royal Commission is grateful to all those who responded subsequently to its invitation to draw relevant analyses and work in progress to its attention. On the basis of preparatory work, including analysis of this material and information contained in reports by consultants which it commissioned, the Royal Commission has defined specific issues on which it is going to focus.   There is now an international commitment, based on a broad consensus among scientists, that action must be taken to avoid dangerous modification to the world’s climate by limiting carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels. This, and other environmental impacts of energy systems, have created strong pressures for radical changes in the way energy is obtained and used. Most commentators agree there needs to be a considerable reduction in the use of fossil fuels as an energy source in the UK, and some have suggested their use should be phased out by the middle of the next century.   The Royal Commission believes that, to provide the necessary perspective for future energy policy, the implications of changes on that scale need to be elucidated and assessed. It is therefore seeking views on issues relevant to this. The full list of these issues and other relevant information can be viewed via the energy section of the Commission’s web site at: http://www.rcep.org.uk/energy.html. Or they can be obtained from the Commission by contacting Cathy Garretty at the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, Steel House, 11 Tothill Street, London SW1H 9RE, telephone No. 0171 273 6639. Responses should reach Cathy Garretty at the same address by Monday 30th November 1998.   It would be appreciated if, where possible, in addition to hard copy, evidence could also be submitted in electronic format, on a 3.5” floppy disc for PC, saved as either WordPerfect 6.1 (or a lower version), Word 6 (or lower version) or ASCII text.   Unless indicated otherwise when evidence is submitted, it will be assumed that the organisation or individual submitting it does not have any objection to its disclosure to other parties should the Commission so decide.