Why should the UK consider its future energy mix now?
The UK Government need to plan now to meet the UK’s future energy requirements in a reliable and cost effective way, while complying with the emissions budgets set under the 2008 Climate Change Act. Several challenges lie ahead.
Under the Climate Change Act, the UK is committed to reducing its annual greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80 per cent by 2050 compared with 1990 levels. Domestic fossil fuel resources, like natural gas from the Continental Shelf, are being gradually depleted.
Additionally, more than one-fifth of the UK’s electricity generating capacity will be retired within the next ten years, either because it is too polluting or too old. New and low-carbon energy sources and infrastructure will therefore need to be developed in the coming decades to meet the UK’s energy demand and emission targets.
As planning and building processes can take several years, and infrastructure is to remain in place for at least two or three decades, it is crucial that decisions are taken now, and in a way that is consistent with future environmental objectives. This is to help avoid the lock-in of technology that, in the long term, would become incompatible with future tighter climate change targets – such as higher-emitting fossil-fuel power plants.
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