UK's transition to low carbon

The UK Government has set out how it plans to move the country onto a permanent low carbon footing and meet the cuts in carbon emissions set out in the budget of 34 per cent on 1990 levels by 2020. Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said: "This is a transition plan for Britain, a route-map to 2020, with carbon savings expected across every sector and a carbon budget assigned to every government department alongside its financial budget. "Renewables, nuclear and clean fossil fuels are the trinity of low carbon and the future of energy in Britain. Under our plans we will get 40 per cent of our electricity from low carbon energy by 2020 and more in the years afterwards. The UK Low Carbon Transition Plan envisages that by 2020: � more than 1.2 million people will be in green jobs; � more than 1.5 million households will be supported to produce their own clean energy; � the UK will be importing half the amount of gas that it otherwise would; and � the average new car will emit 40 per cent less carbon than now. Also published alongside the Transition Plan are the Renewable Energy Strategy which maps out how the Government will deliver the UK's target of getting 15 per cent of all energy (electricity, heat and transport) from renewables by 2020, and the Low Carbon Transport Plan which sets out how carbon emissions from domestic transport will be reduced by up to 14 per cent over the next decade. The energy mix envisaged in the plan means that by 2020 the UK will generate its energy as follows: renewables 31 per cent; gas 29 per cent; coal 22 per cent; nuclear eight per cent; oil one per cent; and others nine per cent.