On 12 May the newly formed Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government released the first details of its likely energy policy. Today, the full coalition agreement was published entitled "The Coalition: our programme for government", which fleshes out the initial agreement with some more of the detail.

In the area of energy policy, however, little detail has been added to the key points. The document does, nevertheless, set out some further areas of agreement:

Emission reduction target: the government will push for the EU to demonstrate leadership in tackling international climate change and will support an increase in the EU emission reduction target to 30% by 2020. It will also work towards a global climate deal that will limit emissions and explore further international sources of funding for tackling climate change.

Offshore grid: an offshore electricity grid will be delivered.

Energy market reform: the aim of reform will be to deliver security of supply and investment in low carbon energy, and ensure fair competition including a review of the role of Ofgem.

Security guarantee: Ofgem will be instructed to establish a security guarantee of energy supplies.

Strategic energy policy: this will be set in Annual Energy Statements.

Community benefits: community-owned renewable energy schemes will be encouraged and communities will be allowed to keep the additional business rates generated by hosting renewable energy projects.

Green financial products: green financial products will be created to enable individuals to invest in the infrastructure needed to support the new green economy.

Many of the topic areas are therefore now covered, but with little detail.

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The original publication date for this article was 20/05/2010.