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Energy Pathways

Meeting our target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050, while securing our energy supplies, will require no less than a transformation of the UK economy.

This will require us to make choices. For example:

• Should we focus on reducing energy use, though energy efficiency and conservation?
• Or should we rely more on increasing and decarbonising the energy supply?
• How will we produce our electricity?
• Which technologies will we adopt?
  

The 2050 target provides important an perspective, which can help us meet our short-term emissions reduction targets, and also help ensure that the UK economy is set on a sustainable, low carbon trajectory towards the the longer-term 2050 target.

The UK Government’s 2050 Pathways Calculator gives an idea of the scale of the challenge as well as the trade offs we face. The calculator allows you to make your own choices on how the UK’s energy and emissions pathway might evolve over the next 40 years.

The calculator:

• Shows that it is possible for us to meet the 80% emissions reduction target in a range of ways, though all require a big effort
• Allows people to explore the combinations of effort which meet the emissions target while matching energy supply and demand
• Is system-wide, covering all parts of the economy and all greenhouse gas emissions released in the UK.

Find out more about the calculator, the analysis behind it, and some of the implications. 

The UK's Department of Energy and Climate Change has also launched My2050, a user-friendly web application designed to help the public have a go at making the choices we face when it comes to moving to a secure, low carbon economy, and to let DECC know what they want 2050 to look like. 

Ensuring the appropriate policy mix

Meeting our climate change and energy security goals requires us to choose the right policy mix in the energy sector, and to reform the energy market.

The UK’s strategic energy priorities include the following:

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