LONDON, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- A potential for environmental policy change in the United Kingdom might scare investors away and hurt long-term climate goals, British lawmakers said.
The British government said it would review its benchmarks for carbon dioxide emissions in 2014. Critics of the decision said the government bowed to corporate pressure by scheduling the review when, in fact, the review would undermine investment confidence.
Under the Climate Change Act, the British government is required to outline a series of carbon budgets in five-year increments with the aim of cutting emissions at least 34 percent of 1990 levels by 2020 and at least 80 percent by 2050.
Joan Walley, chairwoman of the British Environmental Audit Committee, said she welcomed the fact the Prime Minister David Cameron's administration agreed to many recommendations set forth by her committee.
"While the prime minister is to be commended for not faltering when setting the fourth long-term carbon budget, he risks throwing the U.K.'s climate targets off-course by instigating a review in just three years time that could overturn the commitment," she said in a statement.
Backers said reviewing the carbon emissions in 2014 might ease financial pressure if reduction targets are tighter that that required by the European Union. If London pulls back too hard, however, the 2050 targets would be harder to reach.
"The one risk that all investors highlight when they consider putting funds into clean technology is policy change," Zac Goldsmith, a member of the Environmental Audit Committee, said in a statement.
