IN PERSPECTIVE Carbon Reduction: Obligation and Opportunity at Regional and Local Levels

ABSTRACT The UK government has set out a clear framework for tackling climate change which establishes a carbon reduction pathway to 2050. If, as is claimed, this is the first of its kind anywhere in the world, can the obligation it brings be converted into ‘first mover ’ opportunities for businesses and the economy as a whole? This question will be of heightened importance to the English Regional Development Agencies and local authorities following the government’s recently strengthened endorsement of their responsibility for economic growth and efficiency at regional and local levels. This paper considers the policy levers that can help turn the obligation into opportunity and the role that regional and local agencies can play in this through spatial planning, innovation, procurement, skills development and enterprise. It summarises and updates a previous SQW Viewpoint which can be found at www.sqw.co.uk. The obligation Two key pieces of UK legislation- the Climate Change Bill and the Energy Bill, both currently before Parliament1,2- reveal the Government’s determination to respond to the Stern Report (2006) and cut carbon emissions in order to mitigate the threat of climate change. In January, the European Commission submitted its EU Energy Policy proposal, which further reinforces binding national targets for 2020, with the UK down t