Energy Policy of The United Kingdom - Overview

Overview

The 2007 White Paper: “Meeting the Energy Challenge” sets out the Government’s international and domestic energy strategy to address the long term energy challenges faced by the UK, and to deliver 4 key policy goals:

1. To put the UK on a path to cut carbon dioxide emissions by some 60% by about 2050, with real progress by 2020;
2. To maintain reliable energy supplies;
3. To promote competitive markets in the UK and beyond, helping to raise the rate of sustainable economic growth and to improve productivity; and
4. To ensure that every home is adequately and affordably heated.

The scope of energy policy includes the production and distribution of electricity, transport fuel usage, and means of heating (significantly Natural Gas). The policy recognises: "Energy is essential in almost every aspect of our lives and for the success of our economy. We face two long-term energy challenges:

• Tackling climate change by reducing carbon dioxide emissions both within the UK and abroad; and
• Ensuring secure, clean and affordable energy as we become increasingly dependent on imported fuel."

The policy also recognises that the UK will need around 30-35GW of new electricity generation capacity over the next two decades as many of the UK’s current coal and nuclear power stations, built in the 1960s and 1970s, reach the end of their lives and are set to close.

The 2006 Energy Review reintroduced the prospect of new nuclear power stations in the UK. However, following a judicial review requested by Greenpeace, on February 15, 2007 elements of the 2006 Energy Review were ruled 'seriously flawed', and 'not merely inadequate but also misleading'. As a result, plans to build a new generation of nuclear power plants were ruled illegal at that time. (See Nuclear power in the United Kingdom for details). In response, the Government ran “The Future of Nuclear Power” consultation from May to October 2007. The Government’s response to the consultation conclusions, published in January 2008, state “set against the challenges of climate change and security of supply, the evidence in support of new nuclear power stations is compelling.”

The January 2008 Energy Bill updates the legislative framework in the UK to reflect their current policy towards the energy market and the challenges faced on climate change and security of supply. Key elements of the bill address nuclear, carbon capture and storage, renewables, and offshore gas and oil. A framework to encourage investment in nuclear power within a new regulatory environment was simultaneously published in the January 2008 Nuclear White Paper.

In October 2008, the Government created the Department of Energy and Climate Change to bring together energy policy (previously with the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform), and climate change mitigation policy (previously with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs).