The UK Government published their Low Carbon Transition Plan this week. This white paper aims to set out how UK will meet emission cuts as set out in the budget of 34% on 1990 levels by 2020. By 2020: 

• More than 1.2 million people will be in green jobs 
• 7 million homes will have benefited from whole house makeovers, and more than 1.5 million households will be supported to produce their own clean energy 
• 40% of electricity will be from low carbon sources, from renewables, nuclear and clean coal 
• We will be importing half the amount of gas that we otherwise would 
• The average new car will emit 40% less carbon than now. 

Commenting on the plan Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said:

“The UK was the first country in the world to legislate for carbon budgets. It was a dramatic change in approach. This is a transition plan for Britain, a route-map to 2020, with carbon savings expected across every sector and a carbon budget assigned to every government department alongside its financial budget.” 

As you would expect, the plan was both supported and criticised.  One area of particular contention was the Government’s decision to not include new measure to tackle aviation’s growing emissions. In an interview with the Guardian Milliband said that the “government was determined to ensure that air travel remains affordable for ordinary people”.    

As one commentator for the Guardian pointed out, Milliband is saying that flying is “now so important to people’s lives in the UK that it deserves to be treated as a special case”. This will be a stimulus for “every sector to throw up its hands and say that it too deserves special exemption”. If the aviation sector is going to be able to grow and emit without restrictions, then, the cuts are going to have to be found from other sectors - Local Government, NHS, Universities and so on.  

In contrast, Friends of the Earth described the plan as a “major step towards a cleaner, safer future”. Executive Director Andy Atkins said: 

"Developing the UK's world class renewable energy potential and getting tough on energy waste will create new green jobs and industries, tackle fuel poverty and reduce our dependence on fossil fuel”.