ABSTRACT
There are several important policy agendas which are converging towards pursuit of a low-carbon society. The most visible and pressing of these is climate change, which is a priority for many governments, including the UK, whose Climate Change Bill commits the nation to cutting its carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 (HM Government, 2008). This political interest is underpinned by scientific evidence of the human influence on climate associated primarily with fossil energy use (IPCC, 2007), and by economic arguments for the importance of action to both mitigate and adapt to climate change (Stern, 2007). At the same time, interest in a low-carbon future is driven by concerns about energy security and competitiveness. At both EU and member state levels, renewables targets and energy efficiency measures are in large part a response to this concern. In the UK, the impending closure of many coal and nuclear plants and increasing energy demand are foreshadowing a ‘generation gap’ in supply which will need to be addressed by both changes in energy supply and demand. Competitiveness is another element driving low-carbon innovation, and both public and private research and development into new energy sources and carriers (e.g. hydrogen) is in part a response to fear of being left behind in international competition (e.g. Whitmarsh and Wietschel, 2008). Social policy concerns with regard to fuel poverty and obesity similarly feed into the move towards less carbon-intensive and more energy-efficient lifestyles.
