UK government adviser sets 'carbon budget'

01 December 2008

The independent Committee on Climate Change, which advises the UK government on how it can meet its greenhouse gas emission goals, has said that the country must cut its emissions by 21% by 2020, compared with 2005 levels. The committee, chaired by Lord Adair Turner, proposes firm 'carbon budgets' for the next three five-year periods. The cuts could be achieved through greater energy efficiency, switching from fossil fuels to renewable sources like wind and using more nuclear power, the committee said. Lord Turner said the cuts could be achieved without compromising our lifestyles or economy. He said, "The reductions can be achieved at very low cost (an estimated 1% loss of GDP growth in 2020). The cost of not achieving the reductions at a national and global level will be far greater." The committee was established in March 2008 after publication of the government's climate change bill, which set a target of a 60% greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2050 for the UK. The committee recently decided that the UK should reduce its emissions by 80% to play its proper part in meeting that aim. The government will report next year on how it intends to meet those targets.

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