Natural England - Climate change and energy

Climate change and energy

The 2006 Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change emphasised that the longer we put off action on climate change the more dramatic and costly the changes we will have to make. Reducing the rate of climate change depends on reducing our emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, including those released during energy generation.

Maintaining reliable and affordable energy supplies is essential to our modern lifestyle. The present challenge is to move to a low carbon economy without unacceptable impacts on the natural environment. This shift demands much greater efficiency in energy use, as well as a substantial investment in renewable and clean energy for electricity, heat and transport.

The UK has a binding European Union commitment to a renewable energy target of 15 per cent of total energy supply to come from renewable sources by 2020. This target applies to all forms of energy (transport fuel, electricity and heat). The UK directive, the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation, is expected to make a contribution towards the target. The remainder will be met by increasing the amount of electricity generated from renewable sources from 5 per cent to around 35 to 45 per cent.

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