UK leading the low-carbon revolution

Britain is decarbonising at three times the average rate, according to PWC study

The UK is outperforming all the other countries in the G20 with a decarbonisation rate almost three times the international average, according to a new report.

Publiished today (30 October), The Low Carbon Economy Index by consultants PWC sees Britain come top of a list of G20 countries with a decarbonisation rate of 7.7 per cent, compared to a global average of just 2.6 per cent.

According to the report, energy consumption in the UK fell by 2 per cent in 2016, mainly as a result of efficiency improvements.

It also highlights the government’s commitment to close all coal power stations by 2025 and notes three major coal-powered plants shut last year.

Deep-mined coal production in the UK also dropped from 2,784,000 tonnes in 2015 to 22,000 tonnes in 2016, as the last deep coal mine in the country closed it doors.

But the report adds renewable electricity generation was “mixed” in 2016, with solar generation up 36 per cent and hydro and wind power down, due to low rainfall and wind speeds respectively.

China came second in the report, with a fall in carbon density of 6.5 per cent.

The report’s co-author and PWC’s director of climate change, Jonathan Grant, said the gulf between the best and worst performing nations is widening, which “creates problems for business”.

“Despite the increase in carbon pricing regulation in countries around the world, the price signal is often too feeble to promise significant low-carbon investment,” said Grant.

“Many companies are now planning for a range of potential outcomes, including an increase in extreme weather and other climate impacts.”

The countries at the bottom of the index, including Indonesia, Turkey and South Africa all had emissions growth, which exceeded their gross domestic product growth.

“This report will be good news to the government, which is becoming increasingly aware that decarbonisation and economic growth are happy bedfellows,” said Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit’s energy analyst, Jonathan Marshall.

“Much progress to date has been a result of cutting coal-fired generation. However, with the black stuff now contributing so little to the UK electricity grid, we cannot expect to make more headway on decarbonisation by simply switching to gas.

“To maintain a position at the head of the pack, it is vital that efforts to aid the integration of renewables are accelerated. Progress towards a smarter and more flexible grid is already underway, while the promise of electric vehicles to balance the grid is becoming increasingly apparent,” added Marshall.