GLOBE-Net, April 15, 2012 - A new report says the United Kingdom can achieve an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 2050 with minimal impact on GDP and with minimal costs.  

"The 2050 target - achieving an 80% reduction including emissions from international aviation and shipping" was published by the UK's Committee on Climate Change which, was created to provide advice to the government on carbon targets and budgets and preparations for climate change.  

An important conclusion of the report is that the required measures would only cost 1-2% of GDP, at the low end of previously accepted costs. 

The report's chapters cover the power sector, buildings, surface transport, industry and non-CO2 greenhouse gases. For buildings, as well as better insulation to reduce heat demand, more widespread roll-out of electric heat pumps and district heating are recommended.  

Supportive policy measures should include transparent and consistent incentives for insulation and heat pumps, and accreditation of installers. For transportation, the report forecasts that by 2050 the total cost of owning and operating an electric vehicle will be below the cost of a combustion vehicle, so that low emission scenarios can be achieved at no cost to GDP.  

In the interim, the low emission transportation market should be supported with financial incentives (rebates, tax breaks), and a modal shift in freight from road to rail or water should also be encouraged.  

Emission reductions from industry may cost 0.3% of UK GDP, principally due to the high cost of low-carbon steam production. Policy should therefore be focused on long-term regulation (allowing industry to plan and confidently invest) and on the provision of low-cost financing.  

Finally, non-CO2 emissions (principally methane) should be reduced through on-farm mitigation measures, a reduction in biodegradable waste sent to landfill and capturing of fugitive emissions from natural gas pipelines.  

In related news, a leading British academic and government advisor says the government's pledge to reduce emissions and to stimulate green growth will create two million engineering jobs.  

Professor Julia King, Vice-Chancellor of Aston University and non-executive director of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, advises the government on education and technology issues. 

In a recent lecture on Climate Change, Green Growth, Opportunities for Engineering and Manufacturing  she said "Reducing emissions means replacing our current operations, infrastructure and manufactured goods with low carbon alternatives, stimulating research and development, providing opportunities for innovative companies to claim new markets and for the UK to rebalance its economy through green growth."

"Engineering UK, in its report on the state of engineering in 2012, predicts that over the next 10 or so years there will be a growth wave in engineering jobs. The UK will need over 2 million additional engineers. Are we on the threshold of a new golden age for British engineering? I believe that we hold the responsibility, and the means, to make this happen." 

"Engineering is crucial to our quality of life and to combating climate change," she commented. 

"There are great opportunities for engineers in helping to develop technologies that will help the world to adjust to climate change," she continued. 

A similar message about the job creation potential of the low carbon economy is contained in the recently published West Coast Clean Economy Report commissioned by the Pacific Coast Collaborative and prepared by Vancouver-based GLOBE Advisors, in partnership with the Washington D.C. based Centre for Climate Strategies.

That report cites studies by the American Society of Civil Engineers and others, that the West Coast region will need to invest in up to $1 trillion of infrastructure projects in the next 20 years, much of which will be needed to enable the transition toward a lower carbon economy.