UNITED KINGDOM (UK) ENERGY POLICY

(MPA 205)
 Rationale

Energy comprises a range of different

fuels and end uses. Electricity, heating and
transport fuels are all forms of energy used
across the sectors of the UK economy,
including the domestic, business, and
industrial sectors.

Various fuels and technologies are used

to produce the energy consumed in the UK.
The UK is a producer of energy, such as oil
and gas, and domestically generated
electricity from numerous sources. Although
the UK exports some oil, gas, and electricity,
the level of imports to meet the UK’s energy
needs is greater, meaning the UK is a net
energy importer.
 Rationale

The chart below details the fuels used for final energy consumption in the UK
across all sectors. Natural gas is often used for heating, and petroleum is widely
used in transport. Various technologies generate the electricity consumed in the UK,
as set out in the graph.
 Rationale

The graph below shows the electricity mix for electricity generation in the UK
over time. Coal, which historically provided a large proportion of the electricity mix is
declining, and renewables are growing.
 Rationale

Energy Policy Basis:

Energy policy in the UK is the responsibility of the Department for Business,

Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). Although there are numerous regulators
for specific parts of the energy sector, much of the energy market is regulated by
Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem).
 Rationale

UK Ten Point Plan :

The UK was the first major economy

to embrace a legal obligation to achieve
net zero carbon emissions by 2050. It
established Task Force Net Zero to take
forward this national priority, and through
Conference of the Parties (COP) 26
Summit, it will urge countries and
companies around the world to join us in
delivering net zero globally.

The Ten Point Plan demonstrates the

UK’s significant and continuing
commitment to tackling greenhouse gas
emissions. The UK have led the G7
countries in cutting emissions since
1990.
 Objectives

BEIS departmental objectives

The Department is responsible for energy policy and for ensuring the UK meets
statutory targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Its energy-related strategic
objectives are to:

 ensure the UK’s energy system is reliable and secure;

 deliver affordable energy for households and businesses; and

 support clean growth and promote global action to tackle climate change.
 Objectives
Achieving a balance between these three objectives of security, affordability, and
decarbonization, is sometimes referred to as the energy ‘trilemma’. The 2016
National Audit Office (NAO) Departmental overview provided the following graphic of
the trilemma, and the BEIS organizations involved with each objective:

Decarbonization

Security and
Keeping Bills Low
Resilience
 Objectives

The UK Ten Point Plan for a

Green Industrial Revolution
“Building back better,
supporting green jobs, and
accelerating our path to net zero”

 will build on a Conservative

track record of addressing the
climate challenge.

 to place green jobs at the heart

of economic revival.

 to achieve net zero carbon

emissions by 2050
 Target Beneficiaries and Impact on Society
These policy proposals and funding packages
have been framed as a means to:

 create jobs, promote a “green recovery” from

Covid-19 and help the UK achieve its net-zero
emissions target by 2050.

 will mobilize 12 billion pound of government

investment,

 to create 90,000 jobs across the UK within this

Parliament, and up to 250,000 by 2030.

 Engineers, fitters, construction workers and

many others will be engaged in harnessing
British science and technology to create and
use clean energy and forge great new industries
that export to new markets around the world.

 The Lifetime Skills Guarantee will equip people

with the training they need to take advantage of
these opportunities.
 Target Beneficiaries and Impact on Society

Point 1: Advancing Offshore Wind

Advancing offshore wind could deliver…

Support for up to Around 20 Billion pound of Savings of 21 Metric Tons of
60,000 jobs in 2030 private investment by 2030 Carbon Dioxide (MtCO2e)
between 2023 and 2032, or
5% of 2018 UK emissions
Policy impacts:

 UK commitment to a 40 Gigawatts (GW) offshore wind target could help bring forth around
20 billion Pound of private investment in renewable energy.

 Co-ordinated offshore wind connection could deliver up to 6 billion Pound in consumer

savings by 2050, significantly reducing environmental and social impacts on coastal
communities.

 An estimated 60% of spending on UK offshore wind will be invested back into the economy
by 2030.
 Target Beneficiaries and Impact on Society

Point 2: Driving the Growth of Low Carbon Hydrogen

Driving the growth of low carbon hydrogen could deliver...

Support for up to 8,000 jobs Over 4 billion pound Savings of 41 Metric Tons of
by 2030, potentially unlocking of private investment in the Carbon Dioxide (MtCO2e)
up to 100,000 jobs by 2050 in period up to 2030 between 2023 and 2032, or
a high hydrogen net zero 9% of 2018 UK emissions
scenario

Policy impacts:

 Aiming for 5GW Hydrogen production capacity by

2030 in partnership with industry.

 Lower carbon heating and cooking with no

change in experience for domestic consumers
through hydrogen blends and reducing the
emissions of the gas used by up to 7%.
 Target Beneficiaries and Impact on Society

Point 3: Delivering New and Advanced Nuclear Power

New and advanced nuclear power could deliver...

large-scale nuclear power Government support could Each GW of nuclear power
plant will support a peak of unlock significant private generation is enough to power
around 10,000 jobs during investment, up to £300M 2 million homes
construction for development of small with clean electricity
modular reactors alone

Policy impacts:

 Key role for nuclear in delivering deep decarbonization

of its electricity system, alongside renewables and
other technologies.

 High-skilled jobs created and sustained across the UK.

 Likely role for AMRs in decarbonizing industry, heat

and transport.
 Target Beneficiaries and Impact on Society

Point 4: Accelerating the Shift to Zero Emission Vehicles

Accelerating the shift to zero emission vehicles could deliver...

Support for around Around £3 billion of private Savings of around
40,000 new jobs in 2030 investment by 2026 5MtCO2e to 2032 and
300MtCO2e to 2050
Policy impacts:

 Realizing carbon savings of around 300 Mt CO2 to

2050.

 Thousands more ultra-low and zero-emission cars and

vans on UK roads, supported by additional funding for
plug in vehicle grants.

 Thousands more charge points in homes, workplaces,

in residential streets and along motorways and major A
roads.
 Target Beneficiaries and Impact on Society

Point 5: Green Public Transport,

Cycling and Walking

Accelerating the shift to zero emission vehicles could deliver...

Up to 3,000 jobs Government investment of Savings of around
by 2025 £5 billion in buses, cycling and 2MtCO2e from green buses,
walking this parliament cycling and walking between
2023 and 2032
Policy impacts:

 It will bring 4,000 zero emission buses onto our roads, representing 12% of the local
operator bus fleet in England.
 It will further electrify regional and other rail routes.
 It will launch the first-ever National Bus Strategy, as part of the PM’s £5 billion funding,
integrated ticketing between operators and modes and more bus lanes, making services
faster, more attractive and cheaper to operate.
 It will spend £500 million reopening lines and stations closed under the Beeching cuts.
 Over 1,000 miles of safe and direct cycling and walking networks delivered by 2025 with
network plans developed and being built out in every town and city in England.
 Target Beneficiaries and Impact on Society

Point 6: Jet Zero and Green Ships

Taking action on net zero aviation and green ships could deliver…
Up to 5,200 jobs supported by Future proofing the aerospace Savings of up to
a domestic Sustainable industry which is worth £12 1MtCO2e by 2032 from clean
Aviation Fuels (SAF) industry billion maritime and nearly
to the economy 15MtCO2e by 2050 from SAF
Policy impacts:

 These measures will enable the production

of sustainable aviation fuels in the UK,
supporting industry and driving fuel uptake.

 The action will cement its position as a

global leader in aerospace, (worth £12
billion to the UK economy), and position
the UK at the forefront of the zero-emission
aircraft revolution.
 Target Beneficiaries and Impact on Society

Point 7: Greener Buildings

Developing greener buildings could deliver...

Support for around 50,000 Around £11billion of private Savings of 71MtCO2e
jobs in 2030 investment in the 2020s between 2023 and 2032, or
16% of 2018 UK emissions
Policy impacts:

 UK setting an ambition of 600,000 heat pumps

installations per year by 2028.
 Homes built to the Future Homes Standard will be
‘zero carbon ready’ and have 75–80% lower carbon
dioxide emissions than those built to current
standards.
 The green home finance initiatives could help to
improve the energy efficiency of around 2.8 million
homes, improving around 1.5 million to EPC C
standard by 2030.
 Target Beneficiaries and Impact on Society

Point 8: Investing in Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage

Investing in carbon capture usage and storage could potentially deliver…

Support for around 50,000 Up to £1 billion of public Savings of around
jobs by 2030 investment by 2025 40MtCO2e between 2023 and
2032, or 9% of 2018 UK
emissions
Policy impacts:

 Ambition to capture and store 10Mt of

CO2 per year by 2030 – the equivalent of
all the industrial emissions in the Humber
or taking around 4 million cars off the
road.

 It will facilitate the deployment of CCUS in

four clusters by 2030.
 Target Beneficiaries and Impact on Society

Point 9: Protecting the

Natural Environment

Protecting our natural environment could deliver...

Up to 20,000 jobs Up to £5.2 billion Climate and biodiversity
from improving flood defenses of investment for flood benefits from protecting the
by 2027 defenses national landscapes
Policy impacts:

 Increasing the Green Recovery Challenge Fund to £80 million will mean that over 100
nature projects are delivered on the ground over the next 2 years.
 New National Parks, AONB designations and Landscape Recovery projects will protect up
to an additional 1.5% of natural land in England, contributing to its target of protecting 30%
of UK land by 2030.
 Establishing 10 Landscape Recovery projects could create the equivalent of well over
30,000 football pitches of wildlife rich habitat.
 Investment in flood defenses will support 2,000 flood schemes across every region of
England and will better protect over 336,000 properties from risk of flooding.
 Target Beneficiaries and Impact on Society

Point 10: Green Finance and Innovation

Enhancing green finance and innovation could deliver...

The potential for £1 billion of government funding in net Enables carbon savings
hundreds of thousands of zero innovation with £1 billion across low carbon sectors
jobs by 2030 of matched funding and potentially
£2.5 billion of follow-on funding from
the private sector
Policy impacts:

 By 2030, unlock the potential for 300,000 jobs in

exports and domestic industry through new
commercial opportunities across low carbon
sectors.
 Enables savings across low carbon sectors.
 Assessment of the Policy

The Ten Point Plan. The policy ensures that UK recovery from coronavirus will be
green, generate jobs and bolster the economy, whilst continuing to drive down emissions
both now and in the future.

There is however more to be done to achieve net zero by 2050, and the Ten Point
Plan represents one more step on the path to ending the UK’s contribution to global
emissions once and for all. In the coming year, it will set out further plans for reducing
emissions across all the UK’s major economic sectors, including the overall Net Zero
Strategy, which will clearly set out the pathway to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
These efforts need to be undertaken in parallel with adaptation action, building resilience
to the effects of climate change that are already experiencing.

Climate targets set in the Climate Change Act, the Paris Agreement and later in the
Net Zero Strategy have required the introduction of a robust and effective set of policies,
affecting energy consumption and emissions across the sectors of the UK economy. As
part of the policy cycle, effective policies need to be designed, carefully implemented
and eventually their process, outcomes and impacts need to be evaluated so that the
next set of policies can learn from ‘what works’ while existing policies can be fine-tuned
to obtain maximum impact.