Tom Delay, Chief Executive of the Carbon Trust, outlines his vision for the move towards a low carbon economy.
Climate change is the greatest environmental challenge that we face and the scientific consensus and growing political will to address the issue is slowly but surely changing the global context in which business operates. Moving to a low carbon economy not only addresses an environmental imperative, it makes business sense.
The transition to a low carbon economy will have a negligible impact on long term GDP growth and will present tremendous opportunities for those who develop and deliver low carbon products and services. Given international engagement on climate change mitigation, the benefits of moving to a low carbon economy will more than offset the impact on the limited number of disadvantaged industrial sectors. Furthermore, security of supply will be increased by the lower energy demand and greater diversity of energy sources in a low carbon economy.
Research by the Carbon Trust and Imperial College, demonstrates that a 60% reduction in carbon emissions can be achieved by 2050 using a mixture of energy efficiency, renewable sources of electricity, replacing coal and oil with lower carbon fuels such as gas and the use of hydrogen as a fuel.
If we in Britain get it right these new technologies will be the basis for a new industrial revolution. We need to understand, however, that there are significant obstacles to innovation and the take-up of emerging technologies and processes.
The Government's targets for tackling climate change are technically feasible but they won't be hit without a step change in the UK's ability to develop and apply new non-polluting technologies.
But, there are considerable barriers to overcome first. The hard reality is that whilst a low carbon economy is technologically feasible, it will require a step change in our collective approach to making it all work.
What this means is that creating a low carbon economy does not rely on spectacular scientific breakthroughs. The application of technologies already established or envisaged could bring into being the low carbon economy. The problem is that all of the emerging technologies and processes face obstacles to their take-up, not just in developing them, but also in applying them.
For example, energy efficiency will deliver around 50% of the achievable cuts, yet some of the knowledge and many of the techniques concerned have been with us for 20 years or more. And still there is a long way to go before they are accepted practice.
The other half of the target of a 60% reduction in carbon emissions could be met by low emission hydrocarbon fuels, renewables and the widespread adoption of hydrogen as a fuel. Here there is a mix of technological and financial, informational and behavioural, as well legislative and regulatory barriers to be crossed.
Success in tackling the problems of climate change is dependent on sustained innovation over a very long period. It needs continued commitment by political and business leaders, extending beyond individual terms of office.
What we need to do is de-couple growth from increasing energy use in individual businesses and in the wider economy.
We have shown this can be done but it will take investment, ingenuity and incentives. It will need continuous action by Government to align policies and prevent contradictory objectives being pursued. This must be translated into the legislative and regulatory frameworks. It will involve greater knowledge and information and new attitudes and behaviour by ordinary people - as consumers and citizens - to overcome resistance to some of the new technologies.
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