Reducing Carbon Output in the UK

I had made this carbon profile for the UK at Price & Myers soon after the Stern Report came out in 2006-07. I was keen to know if an 80% carbon reduction is technically viable, and if so, what it would potentially look like. The idea wasn’t to create a ‘Transition Plan’ but a potential snapshot of what the future could look like.

Some interesting issues came out of this work, including:
• Carbon emissions from domestic heating is a huge problem, that is not adequately addressed;
• Most of what is typically defined as ‘Transportation’ is just CAR travel and that school runs and journeys to supermarkets were a significant reason for their use;
• Carbon emissions from Air travel has a marginal contribution (but one to watch out for, as it’s a fast growing sector);
• Energy efficiency is quite a tough to implement at a macro scale;
• Decentralised CHP-fed heating has a significant ability to supply heating of homes;
• At a macro scale, Roof-mounted PV do not scale up to provide noteworthy reductions;
• Biomass has a marginal role to play;
• We need significant centralised renewable energy infrastructure.