There is a growing sense of national urgency about the role of energy in long-term U.S. economic vitality, national security, and climate change. This urgency is the consequence of many factors, including the rising global demand for energy; the need for long-term security of energy supplies, especially oil; growing global concerns about carbon dioxide emissions; and many other factors affected to a great degree by government policies both here and abroad. On March 13, 2008, the National Academies brought together many of the most knowledgeable and influential people working on energy issues today to discuss how we can meet the need for energy without irreparably damaging Earth's environment or compromising U.S. economic and national security-a complex problem that will require technological and social changes that have few parallels in human history. The National Academies Summit on America's Energy Future: Summary of a Meeting chronicles that 2-day summit and serves as a current and far-reaching foundation for examining energy policy. The summit is part of the ongoing project 'America's Energy Future: Technology Opportunities, Risks, and Tradeoffs,' which will produce a series of reports providing authoritative estimates and analysis of the current and future supply of and demand for energy; new and existing technologies to meet those demands; their associated impacts; and their projected costs. The National Academies Summit on America's Energy Future: Summary of a Meeting is an essential base for anyone with an interest in strategic, tactical, and policy issues. Federal and state policy makers will find this book invaluable, as will industry leaders, investors, and others willing to convert concern into action to solve the energy problem.
£200 billion of new investment in energy infrastructure is needed by 2020 to cope with rising demand and meet targets on renewable energy and climate change. The six draft National Policy Statements (NPSs) are designed to speed up the planning process for major energy projects to help facilitate this investment, but the new drafts do not prioritise low-carbon generation and renewables over conventional capacity. New Government rules on energy policy could lead to a second 'dash for gas', delaying critical investment in renewables and other low carbon technologies and making the UK's climate change targets impossible to achieve. And development of too much gas capacity could crowd out opportunities for renewables to form a substantial component of the UK's energy mix. The Committee is also sceptical about the ability of the Government to deliver its aims on nuclear power. Ministers told the Committee that the NPSs should enable the development of 16 GW of new nuclear plant by 2025. That is two new nuclear plants each year. The MPs call for more clarity in coordinating developments, and stress that political certainty is essential for investors having to make decisions with planning horizons sometimes over several decades. It raises concerns about the level of investment uncertainty created by giving Ministers the ultimate power to decide on planning decisions and the Government should publish criteria against which the Secretary of State should exercise their discretion.
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