• 2 Action plan
  • 2.1 The political context
    
  • 2.2 South Cambs climate plan
    
  • 2.3 Actions from the Council
    

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2.1 THE POLITICAL CONTEXT

In this section:

• UK emissions reduction goals
• Scope for reaching our targets
• Programs and obligations
• The role of Local Authorities

Programs and Obligations

Government has introduced a whole raft of policy and guidance documents that layout an array of programs and obligations intended to create change towards a low carbon society. The principle element of legislation is the Climate Change Bill 2007.

This Bill puts into statute the UK's targets to reduce carbon dioxide emissions through domestic and international action by at least 60 per cent by 2050 and 26-32 per cent by 2020, against a 1990 baseline.

This target will be reviewed, based on a report from the new independent Committee on Climate Change on whether it should be even stronger still, and the implications of including other greenhouse gases and emissions from international aviation and shipping, in the target.

Five-year carbon budgets will set binding limits on carbon dioxide emissions ensuring every year's emissions count. Three successive carbon budgets (representing 15 years) will always be in law - providing the best balance between predictability and flexibility. These budgets will be backed by strong annual accountability and independent scrutiny.

Emission reductions purchased overseas may be counted towards the UK's targets, consistent with the UK's international obligations. This ensures emission reductions can be achieved in the most cost effective way, recognising the potential for investing in low carbon technologies abroad as well as action within the UK to reduce the UK's overall carbon footprint.

Existing programs and policies will support the achievement of these targets, such the Climate Change Levy, the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme, the Renewables Obligation, the Home Energy Conservation Act, the Low Carbon Building Program, Planning Policy Statements and the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target.

These will be further supported over time by new policies. Of most immediate interest are those that have come forward from the Energy White Paper 2007 into the Energy Bill 2007/8.

These include:

• The Carbon Reduction Commitment Scheme: applying mandatory emissions trading to cut carbon emissions from large commercial and public sector organisations (covering around 10% of the UK economy-wide emissions. Carbon Capture and Storage: creating a regulatory framework to enable private sector investment in CCS projects. CCS has the potential to reduce the carbon emissions from fossil fuel power stations by up to 90%.
• Renewables: Strengthening the Renewables Obligation to drive greater and more rapid deployment of renewables in the UK. This will increase the diversity of the UK's electricity mix, thereby improving the reliability of our energy supplies and help lower the carbon emissions from the electricity sector.
• Smart Meters: allow the Secretary of State to modify electricity and gas distribution and supply licences to require the licence holder to install, or facilitate the installation of, smart meters to different customer segments.