Zero Carbon Britain
The UK government currently aims to reduce carbon emissions by 30 per cent by 2020 and 80 per cent by 2050, but according to many this may not be enough.
The report: Zero Carbon Britain has gone further, and outlines a series of strategies which could reduce the UK’s carbon emissions to zero by 2030.
In order to achieve this ambitious target the report outlines 10 key carbon reduction measures:
1) Fitting Ceiling Insulation: The home accounts for approx. 30 per cent of Britain’s energy demand and is responsible for 30 per cent of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions. More than half of those emissions come from residential heating.
2) Offshore wind: Britain has the potential to meet all its energy needs through renewables by 2030. The bulk of which (55 per cent) can be met through offshore wind turbines. A total government investment of £300 billion over the next 20 years would be required to facilitate this development. This is an enormous amount, but at its peak will only amount to a little more than 2 per cent of the UK’s gross domestic product in 2008.
3) Fewer cows & sheep: Millions of hectares of British land is currently used for grazing livestock and growing feed. But, by cutting the number of cows and sheep by approx. 80 per cent the UK could slash methane emissions from livestock. However, it would mean Britons would be forced into a diet of considerably less beef and lamb (approx. 50 per cent less meat and dairy produce overall).
4) Electric cars and hydrogen buses: Electric cars produce 50 per cent less carbon compared to petrol or diesel automobiles.
5) More trains: Trains can be electrified to reduce emissions and the network expanded to cut out the need for domestic aviation. Improved high-speed rail connections to Europe could also reduce short-haul flights (45 per cent of flights in Europe are less than 500km). In addition, Carbon pricing [#9 on this list] could help make trains a cheaper option for consumers.
6) Widespread cuts in long-haul flying: Aviation is one of the fastest growing sectors of the global economy, and in the UK a 200 per cent increase in air passengers is expected by 2030. To reach a zero carbon Britain, the UK would need to end domestic flying and cut international, long-haul flights, by up-to two-thirds. Some reductions would be expected through the adoption of video-conferencing and an increase in holidaying closer to home, but the bulk of reductions would need to be achieved through tougher price regulation.
7) Biofuels: They’ve got a bad reputation at the moment but ‘second generation’ biofuels made from woody biomass converted into liquid, may have a lower greenhouse gas impact.
8) Carbon price and taxes: To achieve the zero emissions target, the UK would need to introduce a price on carbon of around £200 per tonne. But this could rise to as high as £500 a tonne according to the Center for Alternative Technology. However, Carbon pricing would have a massive impact on the price of carbon-intensive consumption e.g. under such a pricing scheme a kilogram of beef would be approx. £7 more expensive, while a kilogram of chicken would cost an extra £1.75.
9) Cut food imports: Britain currently imports 30-40 per cent of its food; a very carbon intensive modus-operandi.
10) Clever marketing tactics: Underpinning all the above steps is a requirement for behavioural change and an acceptance of things like reduced meat consumption, international travel, and a very different rural landscape. Put simply, we must make sacrifices and adapt.