he UK is trying to build a low carbon economy and increase the role of renewables in its energy mix. Moreover, the UK government aims to achieve net zero by 2050 and a reduction of 78% from 1990 to 2035. It is an ambitious strategy that can bring benefits to the country’s economy and, of course, climate.
All countries that make up the UK have to work towards being more sustainable and increasing their energy efficiency. Recently, Wales has been becoming the key player in achieving the UK’s energy transition goals, mainly owing to tidal energy.
What is the government’s five point plan?
The UK government introduced a five point plan to make the UK more sustainable and deal with climate change:
Protect the public from immediate risk – the UK has seen ten hottest years ever, which proves that climate change is already affecting the UK. The government aims to protect those affected by extreme weather events linked to climate change.
Preparing for the future – repairing certain damage already caused by climate change is impossible but it is important to undertake steps to mitigate the effects of climate change and make the Planet cleaner for future generations
Limit the severity of future climate change through a new international climate agreement – limit global temperature increases, develop a new international climate agreement encouraging countries to work towards achieving this goal.
Build a low carbon UK – cutting emissions, maintaining secure energy supplies, and protecting the most vulnerable are all essential to make it happen.
Engage communities and businesses – everyone needs to play a role in tackling climate change so the government has to encourage domestic customers and businesses to reduce their own emissions and be more sustainable.
What is Wales doing to be more sustainable?
Wales has a chance to move miles ahead of the rest of the UK thanks to marine energy. In fact, in recent years, experts said Wales could become a world leader in marine energy if it made this industry a priority.
As Marine Energy Wales explains, ‘With £152.4 million invested into the marine renewable energy sector in Wales to date, two large scale wave and tidal stream demonstration zones, seabed agreements in place for three separate wave and tidal stream projects, a number of proposals for significant floating offshore wind projects and a government commitment to the development of first of its kind tidal lagoon, Wales is well positioned to play a global leading role in marine energy.’
Using tidal energy to power homes and businesses can not only reduce the impact the country has on the environment but also help it prevent being severely affected by energy crises such as the one the UK is dealing with at the moment. This is because when energy is generated from renewables, the price of generating it is not linked to what is happening on global markets. Therefore, other UK nations should follow Wales’s example and increase investments into renewables, be it marine energy or other green energy generation methods.