AEA

This article is part of the Climate project of Spinwatch.

AEA (formerly AEA Technology) calls itself a "world leading energy and climate change consultancy".

According to the AEA website:

We are world leaders and trusted advisors in the field of environmental consultancy, operating in the UK, Europe, the US and China. We are the leading provider of advisory services to the UK Government and work extensively with the EU and major private sector organisations. We are internationally renowned with expertise in air quality and climate change, carbon management, resource efficiency and waste management, and the environmental impacts of transport.

AEA is a key advisor to the Climate Change Committee and has won contracts to advise on UK-Russia and UK-China climate change initiatives. They also run a chemical safety, risk management and legal advice service under the name National Chemical Emergency Centre (NCEC).

History

AEA Technology was formerly part of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, privatised in 1996. The privatisation was led by Sir Anthony Cleaver as Chairman of the UKAEA, George Robertson as Defence Minister and Lewis Moonie as junior defence minister, as was the subsequent flotation of AEA Technology. Cleaver was AEA chair until 2001. AEA's role, at first, was devoted largely to securing nuclear industry contracts. The group is increasingly moving into environmental consultancy and rail contracts. According to the AEA company website "AEA is a leading international company specialising in consultancy, policy support and programme management for policy implementation. Our largest practice is in the field of Energy and Environment. Our programme management business is also growing rapidly in sectors such as Agriculture, Education, Health, Industry, Transport" .

Activities

AEA develop climate change policy (focused on 'behaviour change' not industrial cutbacks) in Britain and then 'sell' it into other parts of the world and to the private sector. This appears to be aimed at saving businesses money, and they claim to have saved UK industry over £1 bn through their policy developments. 'We understand the environment and know how businesses can capitalise on what is currently the biggest challenge faced by both the private and public sectors.'

AEA and the UK National Energy Review

According to Sourcewatch the AEA's involvement in the UK National Energy Review was problematic for some MPs and other interested parties:

"I wondered why [nuclear power] was being pushed and pushed and pushed," said British parliamentarian Dai Davies, in response to news that "key consultants" working on the UK National Energy Review "have strong links to the nuclear industry." The Observer reports that AEA Technology handled public submissions for the review. AEA was formed by the Atomic Energy Authority, and while the firm "has sold most of its nuclear businesses," it still "has a nuclear waste unit, and senior executives and staff have links to the old authority and other parts of the nuclear industry." Some energy experts who made submissions "said they felt their evidence was underplayed and misrepresented." AEA did publish a summary table, "which showed that nuclear power was the only one [of 15 low-carbon technologies] to get more opposition than support." Prime Minister Blair nonetheless supports nuclear power, though "during the recent heatwave nuclear reactors in mainland Europe" and the U.S. "have had to be shut down," due to high water temperatures.

Board members

Board members listed on the 2007/2008 annual report are as follows:

• Andrew McCree CEO - previously with BP exploration (until joining AEA in 1991)
• Dr Bernard Bulkin - chairman
• Alice Cummings CFO - joined AEA in 1995, previously with South West Water plc.
• Dr Leslie Atkinson Senior Independent Director, joined AEA in 1996. Previously chairman of BP Asia Pacific and Executive Director of Tarmac plc.
• Dr Paul Golby - On board since 2003. Chief executive of E.ON UK. also co-chair of Energy Research Partnership
• Lewis Moonie - Non-exec director. With AEA since 2004. A working peer, MP for Kirkaldy between 1987 and 2005. Parliamentary Under Secretary for Ministry of Defence 2000 and 2003. Non-exec director of PartyGaming plc.
• Rodney Westhead also of Clean Air Power and Transense Technologies

Past board members

Sir Anthony Cleaver 1994-2001

Clients

AEA has contracts with the European Commission and its agencies on policy advice. It leads the UK-Russia Climate Change Science Collaboration Project funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth offices Strategic Programme Fund. Transport consultancy work for Department for Transport, Highways Agency, Commission for Integrated transport, Transport for London etc.

Affiliations

• The National Chemical Emergency Centre (NCEC) is a subsidiary of the AEA Group
• AEA's very glitzy PR (see website) is outsourced to Madano Partnership a rather 'green' painted PR group.

Contact

Address: AEA have offices in Oxford, Ayrshire, Cheshire, Romania, London, Wales

Their main three offices are in Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire.