The UK has today passed a legally binding net zero emissions target into law, becoming the world’s first major economy to do so. After passing through the House of Lords without challenge, this morning Chris Skidmore, stand-in energy and clean growth minister, signed legislation committing the UK to eliminate its greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
A Citizens’ Assembly on climate change and achieving net zero has been announced by six of the government's select committees. The Assembly will bring together a group of citizens to discuss – and reach a conclusion on - a net zero pathway. A report will be produced after all the sessions are over, with the
Large-scale renewables are the most important factor in decarbonisation of the energy sector, according to a new UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) report. However, rapid, unprecedented changes across the entire UK economy will be required to meet net zero. Disruptive change, defined by UKERC as a significant deviation from past trends in a short timeframe,
The UK has now gone a fortnight without coal, underpinning what has been a landmark month for the country’s energy mix. The record was confirmed by National Grid ESO at 3:12pm this afternoon, the moment it became clear that the UK would surpass two consecutive weeks without any coal-fired generation whatsoever. Having only gone a
UK power prices turned negative for nine consecutive hours on Sunday in what’s been billed as an “extraordinary turn of events” for the country’s electricity system. Unusually low demand, some 2GW below forecasts, combined with high wind generation to send prices spiralling, and National Grid was even forced into instructing onshore and offshore wind farms
Great Britain has completed a full week without coal generation, the first time it has done so since the Industrial Revolution in 1882. National Grid ESO confirmed the landmark had been reached in a tweet at 1:25pm this afternoon, having previously guided that the feat was likely to occur. Coal was last used to generate
Committee on Climate Change sets out how UK can reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050 “Make no mistake, this report will change your life,” says Prof David Reay at the University of Edinburgh. “If the meticulous and robust expert advice here is heeded it will deliver a revolution in every facet of our lives,
The transition to a low-carbon energy system is a few steps closer after two technologies that were immature and hugely expensive only a few years ago saw spectacular gains in cost-competitiveness in the last year. New research from Bloomberg NEF (BNEF) shows that the cost of lithium-ion batteries has fallen by 35% over the past
London and New York, March 26, 2019 – Two technologies that were immature and expensive only a few years ago but are now at the center of the unfolding low-carbon energy transition have seen spectacular gains in cost-competitiveness in the last year. The latest analysis by research company BloombergNEF (BNEF) shows that the benchmark levelized
Renewable energy generation hit a record high in 2018, with gas, coal and nuclear all falling.New statistics released by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) showed that renewable energy accounted for 27.5% of the UK electricity supply last year, an increase of four percentage points on the previous year.Renewable energy production in