Asignatura: Historia de los países de habla inglesa / History of english-speaking countries. ✏ Título: UK, climate action Objetivo 13: Acción por el clima / Goal 13: Climate action By: Diana Crística Roxana

1. 13 CLIMATE
ACTION
Diana Cristica

2. Climate change is happening. Measurements show that the average temperature at the Earth´s surface has risen by about
1º C since the pre-industrial period. 17 of the 18 warmest years on record have occurred in the 21st century and each of
the last 3 decades have been hotter than the previous one. Alone with warming at the Earth´s surface, many other changes
in the climate are occurring:​
- rising sea levels​
- warming oceans
- ice melting at a faster rate than usual in Greenland, Antarctica and the Arctic
- more extreme weather events
The main cause of climate change is human activity and the release of greenhouse gases. We produce greenhouse gases
by deforestation, agriculture or cement, chemicals and metals.​
When burnt, fossil fuels release carbon dioxide into the air, causing the planet to heat up. Some gases in the
Earth´s atmosphere trap heat and stop it escaping into space. These gases act as a warming blanket around the Earth
known as the greenhouse effect. Scientists have known about this greenhouse effect since the 19th century. Each of
this gases can remain in the atmosphere for different amounts of time, ranging from a few years to thousands of
years. However, without them the Earth would be about 30 degrees colder than it is today.

4. The U.K. has developed a complex set of measures to reduce emissions since the late 1980s. The aim has been to price
emissions, stimulate the development and deployment of clean energy and improve energy efficiency.
1989: The Non Fossil Fuel Obligation (NFFO) and the Scottish Renewables Obligation (SRO) were established under
the Electricity Act 1989.
2000: Climate Change Programme. This report set out policies and priorities for action both in the United Kingdom and
internationally. Updated in 2006, the policies are supposed to reduce CO2 emissions by 15-18% below 1990 by 2010 and
overall GHG emissions by 23-25%.
2001: The Climate Change Levy (CCL) was introduced on 1 April 2001, effectively replacing the Fossil Fuel Levy. It is
a downstream tax on non-domestic energy use by industry and the public sector, designed to incentivize energy efficiency
and emission reductions, with part of the revenue being used to reduce National Insurance contributions. Energy-intensive
firms can receive up to an 80% discount if they join a Climate Change Agreement (CCA), which requires meeting energy
efficiency or carbon-saving targets. Renewable electricity suppliers are exempt from the CCL.
2002: The Renewables Obligation (RO) replaced the NFFO and SRO as the primary renewable energy policy
instrument. The RO requires electricity end-suppliers to purchase a certain fraction of their annual electricity supply
from producers using specific renewable technologies, and they receive tradable Renewables Obligation Certificates
(ROCs) for doing so. The supplier can also ‘buy out’ the obligation by paying a set price per MWh. The buy-out
revenue is recycled to participating suppliers in proportion to their ROCs.

5. 2007: The Code for Sustainable Homes establishes minimum performance standards for the design and construction of
homes and covers energy, water, materials and waste. From 2008 all new homes must be rated against the Code and
government-funded social housing (from 2010) must comply with its Level 3, which requires a 25% improvement in
energy efficiency compared with 2006 regulations.
2008: Climate Change Act. This Act set a legally binding target of 80% reductions in emissions from 1990 to 2050. A
medium-term target of a 34% reduction by 2020 was also adopted, with the promise of a further tightening in the event of
a global deal on climate change. To achieve these targets, the Act established the principle of five-year carbon budgets.
The first three budgets were set in 2009 and cover 2008-12, 2013-17 and 2018-22. The fourth budget, 2023-2027, which
was recently proposed by the UK Committee on Climate Change, is currently under consideration by the Government,
and will be legislated in June 2011 (as this working paper was being finalised, the Government accepted the proposed
fourth carbon budget. Contributions from the use of carbon trading and offsets will be allowed. There will be a review in
2014 to ensure that the UK efforts are not disproportionate relative to those of other EU members). The Government must
submit its policies to meet these budgets to Parliament, as it did in the Low-Carbon Transition Plan of July 2009, which
set out policies to cut emissions across the power and heavy industry sector; the transport sector; in homes and
communities, workplaces and jobs; in agriculture; and in land use and waste management. The Act also requires the
government to include aviation and shipping emissions, or provide an explanation why not, by the end of 2012.

6. 2008: Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO). This is administered by the Renewable Fuels Agency
and requires suppliers of fossil fuels to ensure that a specified percentage of UK road fuel supply is from renewable fuels.
The target for 2009-2010 is 3.25% of fuels by volume.
2009: Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP). Established to compliment CERT, this scheme achieves aimes
of both carbon reduction and addressing fuel poverty by requiring energy suppliers to achieve 19.25 million tones CO2
lifetime savings in the most deprived areas of England, Scotland and Wales.
2010: Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC EES). Established under the Climate Change
Act 2008, the scheme covers emissions by firms and public bodies not already subject to the EU system or substantially
covered by other agreements. It comprises reporting requirements and a carbon levy. The CRC EES is complemented by
several other policies to promote energy efficiency in residential buildings.
2011: Carbon Plan. Released in draft form in March, the Carbon Plan is a government-wide carbon reduction plan,
including domestic and international emissions. It sets out a vision, plan and timetable for achieving the United
Kingdom’s 2020 emission reduction targets, department by department. Updates on progress will be released quarterly
and a final plan will be released following the confirmation of the fourth carbon budget in June 2011.
2012: Green Investment Bank (GIB). A GIB to unlock finance for the transition to low-carbon growth will commence
operations during the latter half of 2012. The Spring 2011 Budget committed £3 billion in funding, with borrowing
powers available from 2015-16 (conditional on government deficit reduction targets being met).

7. 2014: Smart meter roll-out. The Government’s response to a recent consultation period proposes a new obligation on
energy suppliers to roll out smart meters to all homes in the United Kingdom over the period 2014 to 2019. The roll-out
programme will also involve the replacement of around 53 million gas and electricity meters.
The ten points, which are based on the strengths of the United Kingdom, are:
1. Offshore Wind Energy: Produce enough offshore wind energy to power every household, quadrupling the UK's
production to 40 GW by 2030.
2. Hydrogen: With the goal of generating by 2030 5 GW of low-carbon hydrogen production capacity for industry,
transportation, energy and homes, developing the first city powered entirely by hydrogen by the end of the decade.
3. Nuclear: Promote nuclear energy as a clean energy source through large-scale nuclear power and develop the next
generation of small and advanced reactors.
4. Electric vehicles: End the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, ten years earlier than planned, with
hybrid cars following in 2035, and transform the UK's infrastructure to support electric vehicles. This will put the UK on
track to become the first G7 country to decarbonize road transport.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson presented an ambitious ten-point plan for a green industrial revolution that will allow the
UK to move forward on the goal of eradicating its contribution to climate change by 2050.
Projections for the coming years

8. 5. Public transport, cycling and pedestrianisation: Make cycling and walking routes more attractive and invest in the
zero-emission public transport of the future.
6. Jet Zero and Greener Shipping: Supporting hard-to-decarbonize industries to become greener through research
projects for zero emission planes and ships.
7. Homes and public buildings: Make homes, schools and hospitals greener, warmer and more energy efficient, creating
50,000 jobs by 2030 and aiming to install 600,000 heat pumps each year by 2028.
8. Carbon sequestration: Become a world leader in technology to capture and store harmful emissions away from the
atmosphere, with the goal of eliminating 10 metric tons of carbon dioxide by 2030.
9. Nature: Protection and restoration of the environment, including the reforestation of 30,000 hectares each year.
10. Innovation and financing: Development of the cutting-edge technologies needed to achieve these new energy
ambitions.

9. Without a doubt, climate change is one of the most pressing challenges the world is currently facing.
It seems to me that the more educated people are, the more likely they are to believe that climate change is mainly
caused by humans, and thus the more likely to feel some sense of responsibility for resolving the problem.
Taking everything into consideration, we must lead the world to a cleaner, greener form of growth.
It is a global problem, extremely complex and with multiple edges, not only scientific, but especially socio-economic
and therefore political. The possible solutions involve making global commitments, which in many cases are difficult to
achieve. But society also has part of the solution in its hands, being more aware of its role and power, especially, to fight
for political agendas to include mitigation and adaptation actions, which must be implemented as soon as possible and
maintained in the long term.
Critical opinion
Apart from that, all countries in the world must take action to ensure the future of the planet and the future generations.
In addition, I believe that ecological issues will pay a much more important role in future elections in the coming years.
It is true that it requires individual daily effort as well as a profound change in consciousness.

10. Bibliography:
https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/PP_climate-change-policy-uk.pdf
https://abcmundial.com/2020/11/18/europa/politica/boris-johnson-presento-el-plan-de-diez-puntos-para-una-revolucion-industrial-
verde-en-el-reino
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/climate-change-
explained#:~:text=On%2027%20June%202019%20the,The%20UK%20government%20is%3A&text=reducing%20UK%20emissions
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/climate-change/causes-of-climate-change
https://www.bsa.natcen.ac.uk/media/39251/bsa35_climate_change.pdf