With the UK currently not ‘on track’ to achieve the fourth or fifth carbon reduction targets introduced under the Climate Change Act, Stephen Lowndes, Technical director at the Carbon & Energy Fund discusses.
Stephen Lowndes, Technical director at the Carbon & Energy Fund, argues that there is a strong case ‘for a strategic investment in the fundamentals of a futureproofed energy infrastructure that can be started now, maintains savings throughout its life, and is ultimately adaptable and capable of taking advantage of future technologies as they come on stream’
The UK Government has been aligning itself to a series of carbon budgets introduced under the 2008 Climate Change Act. Each provides a five-year statutory cap on total greenhouse gas emissions, which, when taken together, define a path toward Britain’s long-term climate objective. We are currently in the third carbon budget, which has a target to cut emissions to 37% by 2020 relative to 1990. The fourth budget sees this target expanded to 51% by 2025, and the fifth to 57% by 2030. At the moment the UK is not on track to achieve the fourth or fifth budget targets. Notwithstanding this, the UK Government has recently increased its ambition to set the 2050 long-term objective to net zero emissions.
The NHS has been monitoring its emissions for some years, albeit that they have not always been in alignment with the UK carbon budgets or baselines. The NHS Long Term Plan,2 published in January 2019, identified the goal of reducing the NHS carbon footprint by a third from 2007 levels by 2020, and aligning with the UK Government Climate Change Act carbon budgets – citing the challenge to achieve 51% by 2025.
Log in or register FREE to read the rest
This story is Premium Content and is only available to registered users. Please log in at the top of the page to view the full text.
If you don't already have an account, please register with us completely free of charge.
