The United Kingdom announced that there is going to be a change in their energy policy, subsides for the public using renewable energy sources is going to be cut. The article highlights the solar panel industry of an example of how the change in policy will affect the United Kingdom. Subsides in the solar panel industry are going to be cut causing tariffs to be reduced leading to decrease in profits for the industry because people will not want them. The government is reporting that the cut in subsides will add little money to the budget. With this budget money the government hopes to open the door to other green energy solutions. There are some skeptics that believe that this change in policy will cause negative effect such as increasing energy prices and it takes away focus from renewable green technology like the solar power industry.
When environmental problems become social problems the society must solve it with a solution from society. One of the ways this is accomplished is the government uses the power of politics through regulations, tax incentives, or market solutions. The United Kingdom tried the first approach of tax incentive, prompting rewards for making good decisions. The government is not seeing the results they would like with this approach so they are changing tactics. They are moving towards setting up more regulations. These will cost more money to enforce than the tax incentives and they are not as flexible. In most cases regulations are the only way that governments can make real progress when trying to solve environmental problems because they set boundaries and take action. I guess will have to wait and see if changing the policies will really make a difference in solving environmental problems.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/oct/20/renewable-energy-subsidies-slashed
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