With the increasing awareness of the global peaking of fossil fuels and related energy resources, many European nations have begun adopting a wide range of alternative energy practices and policies. Without worldwide reductions in energy, however, there appears to be no single viable alternative production method. The best policy may be a combination of widespread reduced energy consumption and the introduction of decentralized alternative energy.
The United Kingdom’s department of energy and climate change, led by Chris Huhne, has promoted their government’s international and domestic energy approach with the following goals: reduction of 60 of carbon emissions in the UK by 2050, maintain reliable, constant flow of affordable energy, to ensure all homes in the UK are efficiently heated, and to promote real world market solutions and sustainable economic growth.
The UK acknowledges that it will require an additional 30-35GW of new electricity generation over the course of the next two decades, as aging coal energy plants built in the 1960′s and 1970′s become obsolete. Since the ongoing radiation disaster in Japan, nuclear power has become increasingly unfavorable as an option. Climate change threats and the increasing recognition of the negative environmental effects of coal also reduce the likelihood of new coal fired plants. While the UK struggles to introduce novel alternative energies, the most cost-efficient method may be reduction of energy consumption.