Foxon, TJ and Pearson, PJ (2013) The UK low carbon energy transition: Prospects and challenges. Working Paper. Realising Transition Pathways Working Paper
Abstract
Under the 2008 Climate Change Act, the UK has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050. This implies a radical transformation of systems for meeting energy service demands - in particular, a transition to a low carbon system of electricity generation and supply. Despite efforts by the UK Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to examine pathways to 2050, most of the focus in UK energy policy has been on the shorter term reforms needed to incentivise high levels of investment in low carbon generation technologies, embedded in the Energy Bill currently going through the UK Parliament. This chapter draws on work by the authors and colleagues on UK low carbon transition pathways for the electricity sector to 2050 (Hammond and Pearson, 2013; Foxon, 2013) to examine the drivers and consequences of alternative low carbon pathways, and reflect on the implications for current UK energy policy measures. This suggests that governance models with different roles for government, business and civil society could lead to quite different low carbon futures, so that which model dominates could have a significant influence on the direction of change and the risks and challenges to be addressed. Whilst a hybrid government-market form of governance appears to be emerging, there still seems to be a relatively small role for civil society in influencing the pathway to a low carbon future.
Metadata
Item Type: | Monograph |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 29 Sep 2015 10:50 |
Last Modified: | 03 Nov 2015 15:48 |
Published Version: | http://www.realisingtransitionpathways.org.uk/real... |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Realising Transition Pathways Working Paper |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:80089 |