Mitigation

Climate change mitigation refers to action to reduce the concentration of greenhouse gases in the global atmosphere, either by reducing the quantity emitted, or by capturing and storing them. For the Climate Change PPS, the focus is on the former, i.e. reducing greenhouse gas emissions at source.

Of the six different greenhouse gases, by far the most significant is carbon dioxide (CO2). This accounted for 85% of man-made GHG emissions in the UK in 2007, after weighting all emissions by their global warming potential. Of these, 93% came from the burning of fossil fuels to provide energy, either for transport, power stations, industrial processes or heating and lighting homes and other buildings. You can read DECC statistics about climate change here.

Therefore, promoting sustainable energy, either by reducing fossil fuel energy use, or using energy generated from low and zero carbon energy sources, has a key role to play in mitigating climate change. For this reason, the Climate Change PPS, and the remainder of this policy context section, focuses on sustainable energy.

Overview of key policies and targets

To deliver the reduction in CO2 emissions that is required for the UK to mitigate climate change, there is a hierarchy of legislation (which includes targets), strategies, policies and regulatory and financial “carrots and sticks” in place. The key ones, and the ones that are likely to support the viability of Climate Change PPS policies, are described in policy objectives.

The toolkit contains further background information about mitigation;

Key incentives – This is likely to be the section which has the most direct affect on your policy making around sustainable energy. Much of what is discussed here will be of direct relevance in your considerations of future policy making and delivery.

Key legislation – This section sets out the key legislation and targets applicable to climate change mitigation, and summarises the impacts of each of these on sustainable energy policy making.

Key strategies – The information here is included principally to provide context for your policy making and contains useful summaries of the key strategies currently in place.

The toolkit also provides an introduction to the policy context of climate change adaptation.