Climate change in the United Kingdom
Parliament passed Acts related to climate change in 2006 and 2008, the latter representing the first time a government legally mandated a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Climate change has been discussed by British politicians since the late 20th century, but it has attracted greater political, public and media attention in the UK from the 2000s.
The British royal family have also prioritised the issue, with King Charles III having been outspoken "about climate change, pollution and deforestation" for the "last 50 years".
[33] The 2022 heatwave resulted in the first code red extreme heat warning in the country, instigating a declaration of national emergency, and causing wildfires and widespread infrastructure damage.
[50][48] Without climate change mitigation or adaptation measures, heat-related deaths could increase sixfold by the 2050s, particularly affecting children, the elderly and people with pre-existing conditions.
[52] Beyond physical risks, floods have severe long-lasting mental health consequences for survivors, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
According to the Review, without action, the overall costs of climate change will be equivalent to losing at least 5% of global gross domestic product (GDP) each year, now and forever.
The rainfall led to "severe damage to homes and infrastructure, power blackouts, travel cancellations, and heavy losses of crops and livestock".
In 2022, bioenergy comprised 63% of the renewable energy sources utilized in the UK, with wind accounting for the majority of the remaining share at 26%, while heat pumps and solar each contributed approximately 4.4%.
The Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act 2006 aimed to boost heat and electricity micro-generation installations in the UK, helping to cut emissions and reduce fuel poverty.
The Climate Change Act 2008[76] makes it the duty of the Secretary of State to ensure the net UK carbon account for all six Kyoto greenhouse gases for 2050 is at least 80% lower than 1990.
[64] Ahead of the 2009 conference while talks had been stalling, prime minister Gordon Brown launched a manifesto calling for an international agreement that would bring investment into climate change adaptation in developing countries.
The DECC is still the authoritative body, but these voluntary agreements represent their attempt to create an atmosphere where it is seen as advantageous to business to manage carbon emissions.
The scheme encourages businesses to invest in low-carbon technology by offering a "100% first-year capital allowances on their spending on qualifying plant and machinery".
In this instance DECC involved The Carbon Trust, as a body specialised in energy efficiency, and delegated responsibility to them "to ensure sufficient expertise"[103] is brought to the governing process.
While it has been argued that this is an attempt to allow markets to govern carbon emissions by incentivising their proper management[104] and allowing them to be traded and priced by supply and demand, the hierarchical influence of the governmental institutions, the EU and DECC, are still evident and prevent emissions trading in England in its current form being considered market governance.
[37] The Wildlife Trusts have suggested reintroduction of Eurasian beavers improves resilience of British rivers and wetlands to droughts, create carbon sinks and prevent flooding.
It found that mention of the "greenhouse effect" and "global warming" had appeared in British parliamentary records since the 1980s, with the term "climate change" used more since the late 1990s.
[85] However, between 2006 and 2010, campaigns by environmental non-governmental organization generated attention towards climate change in British media, and it became a bipartisan issue in UK politics.
[129] The Global Warming Policy Foundation is a climate change denialist think tank and lobby group founded by former chancellor Lord Nigel Lawson in 2009.
[133] The Global Warming Policy Foundation and some members of the Conservative Party shifted to opposing the perceived cost of net zero rather than outright denying the occurrence of climate change in the 2020s.
[134][135] According to analysis of social media posts in The Guardian, at least thirty Reform UK prospective parliamentary candidates in 2024 went beyond mere scepticism about net zero, to casting doubt on the validity of human-caused global warming, some employing accusations of "hoaxes" or "scams" by "globalist elites" or "the Illuminati".
[138] School strikes took place from the 2010s, and groups such as Extinction Rebellion and Insulate Britain using tactics such as traffic obstruction in protest of climate change issues.
[147] The case alleges that the right to life must be used to interpret duties in company law, and that because fossil fuels must cease to exist, any investments using them pose a "risk of significant financial detriment".
[156] Charles III has expressed concern over the impacts of climate change and called for action on the issue among world leaders, including advocating for a "Marshall-like plan" to address it.
This does detract from their hierarchical authority of DECC as they are the central figure in the network, it is simply a recognition that they need to "forge coalitions with societal interests in order to achieve their policy goals".
CERT is another scheme introduced by the government that requires large energy supply companies to "make savings in the amount of CO2 emitted by householders".
Climate Energy offers a consultancy service promising to "leverage funding from utilities to support projects"[165] for their clients through their connections in the industry.
The Green Deal will still be a centrally commissioned and regulated scheme, but the consultation process allows for specialist views to be taken into account when the policy is formulated.
[172] The department may rely on other bodies to deliver its desired outcomes, but it is still ultimately responsible for the imposition of the rules and regulations that "steer (carbon) governmental action at the national level".
