In the run up to the Copenhagen climate change summit in December, many nations are making their policies and tactics on the reduction of carbon emissions known. Announced this week, Ed Miliband has unveiled Britain’s answer: the UK Low Carbon Transition Plan. According to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), the plan will ensure that,

• More than 1.2 million people will be in green jobs
• 7 million homes will have benefited from whole house makeovers, and more than 1.5 million households will be supported to produce their own clean energy
• Around 40% of electricity will be from low carbon sources, from renewables, nuclear and clean coal
• We will be importing half the amount of gas that we otherwise would
• The average new car will emit 40% less carbon than now.

Indeed, in an appeal to environmentalists across the UK, the DECC has stated quite explicitly on their website that the UK Low Carbon Transition Plan is the “most systematic response to climate change of any major developed economy, and sets the standard for others in the run up to crucial global climate talks in Copenhagen in December”.

Keen to be seen as proactive ahead of the important summit, Miliband, the DECC and the UK government seem to have been rigorous in their planning. The scheme will mean major overhauls in several areas, and the cost to the consumer could be high.

In that respect, the government must make sure it sells the scheme to the UK public; that cost must be justified in terms of the scale of the problem. Certainly, the benefits are substantial. But, in difficult financial periods, problems like climate change – which for rich countries is still something of a conceptual problem – are not easily addressed with taxpayer’s money.

With bills likely to rise as a result of the more expensive renewable energies, this friction could become apparent.

Nonetheless, the scheme will look to make genuine emissions cuts in five key areas. These are:

• Energy Generation
• Industry and Business
• Homes and Communities
• Farming
• Transport

With transport and energy generation counting for 20% and 35% of UK carbon emissions respectively, the Low Carbon Transition Plan is certainly looking to tackle the problem in key areas. In terms of energy generation, major reforms will include switches to green and clean electricity, and renewable energy sources. For transport, the government will focus on increasing energy efficiency for road vehicles.

In explaining the plan, and the potential costs, the DECC stated that,

“The Transition Plan takes a cost effective route to reducing carbon and keeps the overall impact on the consumer to a minimum. Today’s plan will not increase average energy bills by 2015, compared to now. By 2020, the impact of ALL climate change policies, both existing and new, will be to add, on average, an additional 8% – or £92 – to today’s household bills. Since 2000 £20 billion has been spent tackling fuel poverty, assisting millions of households in the UK. ”

In the lead up to Copenhagen, and beyond, the UK Low Carbon Transition Plan could form the bedrock on which other environmental policies in the UK rest.

More Information on the UK Low Carbon Transition Plan