National strategies for saving energy

National Carbon Plan

The government have recently published a national carbon plan for the whole of the UK. This plan shows ways of maintaining a steady decline in carbon emissions until they reach 80%less than the 1990 levels before/in 2050. Each carbon budget within the plan lasts for five years, giving a reasonable amount of time to secure the results. The first of these budgets is currently in its fourth year of progress and will come to an end in December next year. By 2020, the government hope to have cut carbon emissions by 34%. The first four carbon budgets have been set in law; therefore they will have to be carried out, no matter what happens between now and 2027. By the end of this year, the government are hoping to have hit targets of a 23% decline. This will considerably reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the UK, thus reducing the country’s carbon footprint.

The Green Deal

Secondly; the government have set up a “Green Deal”, which is set to run from next October, and will make it far easier for households to save energy. This will work by encouraging households to sign up to the scheme. By doing this, any money they save by using less energy will go towards insulation for houses across the nation. All energy bills will remain the same, with the occasional few reducing. This insulation will go to less fortunate households who cannot afford the insulation that they require.

Renewable energy

Thirdly, the government will introduce more methods of renewable energy. These will include wind farms and solar panels, alongside many more. These will inevitably cut greenhouse gas emissions, because there will be little need to burn fossil fuels to generate energy. This will reduce the country’s carbon footprint, as less greenhouse gasses will be released into the already polluted atmosphere. In addition to cutting emissions, the scheme will provide business opportunities for many unemployed workers across the UK and the rest of the world, allowing other countries to learn from us and develop their own renewable energy industries. If we can reduce the international carbon footprint, we could postpone global warming for many years, therefore extending the life of our planet.

Heat

Next; heat. Heat is the biggest single energy consumer in the UK. On average, we spend around £33 billion per year on hearing out homes, offices, transport and workplaces. The vast majority of this heat comes from burning fossil fuels. This is something that the government are keen to change. This amounts to over a third of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the UK. The alternatives for heat energy will depend greatly on the geography of the place. For a coastal town, hydropower is an ideal alternative; however this wouldn’t be the case in the midlands for instance. We need to find other alternatives for heat as soon as possible, as it is a major contributor to greenhouse gases.

Biomass

Biomass is renewable energy derived from plants or animals. It is a versatile fuel and can be used in many different ways. The government are using biomass mainly because it is easy to predict the production levels of biomass than it is for any other form of renewable energy. The government are convinced that biomass is sustainable; however some may have reservations on the matter. Dry biomass is commonly burned to create heat energy, whereas wet biomass is converted into flammable biogas. In order to make biomass sustainable, we need to regularly replant the crops and plants we use in the making.

Hydroelectricity

Hydroelectric power is power generated by falling water. As we receive a high amount of rainfall in the UK, we have an awful lot of falling water. We could put this to use by turning it into hydroelectricity. As the scheme is purely water, little or no carbon emissions arise from the process, making it ideal for cutting our national carbon footprint. This is a sustainable, renewable programme, as it will continue to rain, and as we are an island, there is plenty of water around us to use to generate electricity. As long as this water is transported efficiently, there will be no carbon emissions throughout the entire process.

Tidal

Tidal energy is ideal for the UK as we are an island, meaning we have tides all around us. Additionally, you can never be more than 70 miles from the sea, so it can be used throughout the country. Tides have the potential to generate a lot of electricity, as they can be rather powerful. Tidal barrage which will come from the process can also double as a bridge, thus preventing flooding. Some people believe that tidal energy could have a negative impact on the environment, however the government disagree completely.

Nuclear power

Nuclear power produces low carbon emissions, lower than you would expect. The government state that nuclear power has the potential to reduce the country’s carbon emissions by 7-14%. This would make a huge difference to the carbon footprint. The process creates extremely large amounts of energy, about 50 million times the amount per atom than carbon combustion. There are many disadvantages to the process, however. These include: the cost, the fact that nuclear waste is extremely toxic and needs to be buried for hundreds of thousands of years. This makes the process unsustainable.

Wind power

The government currently has wind turbines located all around the UK, both onshore and offshore. As the UK has some of the best wind resources in Europe, it would be a shame to waste them, especially as a lot of energy can be generated from it.

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GCSE Edxecel Geography A

National strategies for saving energy