Climate change resulting from CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions poses a huge threat to human welfare. To contain that threat, the world needs to cut emissions by about 50 per cent by 2050, and to start cutting emissions now. A global agreement to take action is vital. A fair global deal will require the UK to cut emissions by at least 80 per cent below 1990 levels by 2050. In this report, the Committee on Climate Change explains why the UK should aim for an 80 per cent reduction by 2050 and how that is attainable, and then recommends the first three budgets that will define the path to 2022. But the path is attainable at manageable cost, and following it is essential if the UK is to play its fair part in avoiding the far higher costs of harmful climate change. Part 1 of the report addresses the 2050 target. The 80 per cent target should apply to the sum of all sectors of the UK economy, including international aviation and shipping. The costs to the UK from this level of emissions reduction can be made affordable - estimated at between 1-2 per cent of GDP in 2050. In part 2, the Committee sets out the first three carbon budgets covering the period 2008-22, and examines the feasible reductions possible in various sectors: decarbonising the power sector; energy use in buildings and industry; reducing domestic transport emissions; reducing emissions of non-CO2 greenhouse gases; economy wide emissions reductions to meet budgets. The third part of the report examines wider economic and social impacts from budgets including competitiveness, fuel poverty, security of supply, and differences in circumstances between the regions of the UK.

The Government has missed a big opportunity to kick start a green-industrial revolution with its £3bn fiscal stimulus. Germany, the US, Japan and China have invested billions in their low-carbon industries. But only one sixth of the UK's Government's fiscal stimulus package was devoted to green industry. Many of the policies needed to cut carbon emissions will provide good opportunities to increase employment and could give the UK a competitive advantage in the coming decades. The UK has the potential to take a leading global role in a number of low carbon sectors. Creating a strong home market in off-shore wind could ensure UK companies are well placed to exploit export opportunities to other EU countries - or promising markets such as the US and China. Increasing the speed and scale of the programme to insulate UK homes could also sustain employment and kick start a market estimated to be worth between £3.5 - 6.5 billion a year. Business needs confidence that financial incentives and regulation designed to promote low carbon industries will be maintained. Although it is recognised that the UK government has made significant investment for delivery of its Low Carbon Industrial Strategy and its Low Carbon Transition Plan it is not sufficient to meet emissions targets or to provide the economic advantage needed. It is felt that the Low Carbon Industrial Strategy does not effectively address a transition across the whole economy. The Committee on Climate Change has identified key sectors in which energy savings must be made and the Government's strategy on green jobs must be directly linked to these sectoral targets and green industries developed to achieve these. The Committee also feels that, in particular, a 'quick win' street-by-street programme of energy saving measures for households that will boost employment and keep UK building firms in business should be developed as a priority. The market-based, demand-led approach to skills has not worked because employers are unable to effectively articulate their needs. The Government's new skills strategy must prioritise the skills needed to drive the economy through the low-carbon transition. A body to lead the green skills agenda must be found and low-carbon skills need to be integrated through the whole skills delivery system to encourage behavioural change across the entire economy

This White Paper sets out the UK's transition plan to 2020 for becoming a low carbon country: cutting emissions, maintaining secure energy supply, maximising economic opportunities and protecting the most vulnerable. The plan will deliver emission cuts of 18 per cent on 2008 levels. Key steps include: all government departments to have carbon budgets; 40 per cent of energy from low carbon sources including 30 per cent of energy from renewables; funding of four demonstrations of capturing and storing emissions from coal power stations; new nuclear power stations. Home will be made greener by: £3.2 billion to help households become more energy efficient; rolling out smart meters to all homes by 2020; piloting "pay as you save" schemes; introducing clean energy cash-back schemes; a competition for 15 towns and villages to be pioneers in green innovation. Vulnerable sections of society will be helped by: mandated social price support; piloting a community-based approach to delivering green homes in low income areas, helping around 90,000 homes; increasing Warm Front grants. The greening of industry will be addressed through support for development and use of clean technologies, including £120 million in offshore wind and £60 million towards marine energy. Transport will be transformed: carbon dioxide emissions from new cars to be cut across the EU by 40 per cent on 2007 levels and increased support for electric cars; sourcing 10 per cent of UK transport energy from renewable sources. A framework for emissions from farming will be developed. Also published are "The UK renewable energy strategy" (Cm. 7686, ISBN 9780101768627) and "Low carbon transport" (Cm. 7682, ISBN 9780101768221).

The UK's existing carbon budgets represent the minimum level of emissions reduction required to avoid a global 2 degrees temperature rise - regarded as a dangerous threshold - and the UK's leading climate scientists do not believe loosening the budgets is warranted. The current (2008-2012) and second (2013-2017) carbon budgets will be easily met because of the recession. But the UK is not on track to meet the third (2018-22) and fourth budgets (2023-2027), because not enough progress is being made in decarbonising transport, buildings and heat production. The Government's Carbon Plan - which set milestones for five key Government Departments to cut carbon - is out of date without any quarterly progress reports published yet. The Green Deal has also had low take-up rates so far. The Government should set a 2030 decarbonisation target for the power sector now, rather than in 2016 as the Energy Bill sets out. The Government should also reconsider placing a statutory duty on local authorities to produce low-carbon plans for their area. The current low-carbon price in the EU ETS - the result of the economic downturn of recent years and over-allocation of emissions permits - also means that that scheme will not deliver the emissions reductions envisaged when the fourth carbon budget was set. Without any tightening of the EU ETS increased pressure will therefore be placed on the non-traded sector, which will have to produce further emissions reductions to cover the emerging gap left by the traded sector

The science is unequivocal: stabilizing climate change implies bringing net carbon emissions to zero. This must be done by 2100 if we are to keep climate change anywhere near the 2oC warming that world leaders have set as the maximum acceptable limit. Decarbonizing Development: Three Steps to a Zero-Carbon Future looks at what it would take to decarbonize the world economy by 2100 in a way that is compatible with countries' broader development goals. Here is what needs to be done: -Act early with an eye on the end-goal. To best achieve a given reduction in emissions in 2030 depends on whether this is the final target or a step towards zero net emissions. -Go beyond prices with a policy package that triggers changes in investment patterns, technologies and behaviors. Carbon pricing is necessary for an efficient transition toward decarbonization. It is an efficient way to raise revenue, which can be used to support poverty reduction or reduce other taxes. Policymakers need to adopt measures that trigger the required changes in investment patterns, behaviors, and technologies - and if carbon pricing is temporarily impossible, use these measures as a substitute. -Mind the political economy and smooth the transition for those who stand to be most affected. Reforms live or die based on the political economy. A climate policy package must be attractive to a majority of voters and avoid impacts that appear unfair or are concentrated on a region, sector or community. Reforms have to smooth the transition for those who stand to be affected, by protecting vulnerable people but also sometimes compensating powerful lobbies.

The Federal Government of Nigeria has adopted an ambitious strategy to make Nigeria the world’s 20th largest economy by 2020. Sustaining such a pace of growth will entail rapid expansion of the level of activity in key carbon-emitting sectors, such as power, oil and gas, agriculture and transport. In the absence of policies to accompany economic growth with a reduced carbon foot-print, emissions of greenhouse gases could more than double in the next two decades. This study finds that there are several options for Nigeria to achieve the development objectives of vision 20:2020 and beyond, but stabilizing emissions at 2010 levels, and with domestic benefits in the order of 2 percent of GDP. These benefits include cheaper and more diversified electricity sources; more efficient operation of the oil and gas industry; more productive and climate –resilient agriculture; and better transport services, resulting in fuel economies, better air quality, and reduced congestion. The study outlines several actions that the Federal Government could undertake to facilitate the transition towards a low carbon economy, including enhanced governance for climate action, integration of climate consideration in the Agriculture Transformation Agenda, promotion of energy efficiency programs, scale-up of low carbon technologies in power generation (such as renewables an combined cycle gas turbines), and enhance vehicle fuel efficiency.