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Part of the book series: Energy, Climate and the Environment Series ((ECE))

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Abstract

The UK is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 from a 1990 baseline. In order to reach this target the energy system will need to undergo a ‘transition’ on all levels, including those relating to human actions and behaviours. Responsible for approximately 30 per cent of total carbon emissions in the UK, the residential sector has a crucial role to play in reaching national CO2 reduction targets (Palmer et al., 2006). It has been estimated that this sector has the potential to cut emissions by 60 per cent between 1996 and 2050, with two-thirds of the reduction in this scenario coming from demand reduction and one-third from low- and zero-carbon technologies (Boardman et al., 2005). Realising reductions of this scale will undoubtedly involve ’substantial behaviour change from all sectors of society’ (HMG, 2009).

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© 2012 Nicola Hole

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Hole, N. (2012). Low-Carbon Living in 2050. In: Herring, H. (eds) Living in a Low-Carbon Society in 2050. Energy, Climate and the Environment Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137264893_3

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