'UK govt loses control of emissions growth'

...If matters had gone according to plan, the 2007 White Paper should have reported on the progress towards the 2020 figures laid out four years ago. Unsurprisingly perhaps, this week's document does no such thing. It barely mentions the 2003 paper and most certainly does not assess whether the 110-120 million tonnes figure is going to be achieved.

Instead, the 2007 document offers a brand new estimate of the likely 2020 emissions. The figure is now 151.2 million tonnes of carbon. Let us be clear what this means – instead of expecting to achieve a reduction to between 110 and 120 million tonnes, the White Paper sees a figure 12% higher than in 2003. A substantial fraction of the increase in the forecast has occurred since the Green Paper of summer 2006. Four years of active policy making, endless initiatives and international conferences too numerous to count have totally failed. The government is finally acknowledging that it has lost control of emissions growth...

-- Chris Goodall on the UK Energy White Paper

P.S. 25 May: Dieter Helm on the White Paper - well worth reading