ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on UK low carbon transition pathways for the electricity sector to 2050. It examines the drivers and consequences of alternative low carbon pathways, and reflect on the implications for current UK energy policy measures and business responses. Governance of UK energy systems has already undergone significant changes in the last 25 years. Both the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) 2050 scenarios and low carbon transition pathways, together with other UK 2050 scenarios, demonstrate the range of possibilities for a secure and low carbon UK energy system by 2050. In general, this type of pathway analysis highlights the high-level choices that need to be made in realising a transition to a low carbon energy system. Recent analyses, including the Transition Pathways project, have shown the complexities of resolving the shifting priorities of the energy policy trilemma in a privatised and liberalised electricity system.
