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On 24 February 2003 the Government launched its Energy White Paper “Our Energy Future – creating a low carbon economy”. The
White Paper marks a radical change to energy policy, bringing environment concerns to the heart of policy, by defining a long-term
strategic vision for energy policy combining our environmental, security of supply, competitiveness and social goals. It sets
out the challenges we face on the environment, the decline of our indigenous energy supplies and the need to update our energy
infrastructure and describes the policies we need to pursue over the next twenty years and beyond to meet these challenges.
Central to these policies are the four goals for our energy policy:
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to put ourselves on a path to cut the UK’s carbon dioxide emissions - the main contributor to global warming - by some 60%
by about 2050 with real progress by 2020
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to maintain the reliability of energy supplies
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to promote competitive markets in the UK and beyond, helping to raise the rate of sustainable economic growth and to improve
our productivity
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to ensure that every home is adequately and affordably heated.
Launching the White Paper was simply the start, the real task is to implement the strategy and delivers the goals.
Delivering the White Paper
Within the White Paper there are over 130 commitments that must be delivered. Some of these are specific new undertakings,
others reinforce existing policies and programmes while others provide a wider policy framework. These have been broken down
into 10 overall work streams, each with a single person with overall responsibility for delivering that work stream.
The work streams are: Climate Change, Reducing UK Emissions, Energy Efficiency, CHP, Renewables, Social including Fuel Poverty,
International Energy Relations, Innovation, Education, Skills and Research , Transport, Security of Supply and Delivery Partnerships.
Sustainable Energy Policy Network
Achieving the goals and individual commitments set out in the white paper cannot be achieved by any one government department.
They require close integration across departments and much wider. To make this a reality the white paper announced the creation
of a sustainable energy policy network a network of policy units from across government departments, the devolved administrations,
regulators and key delivery organisations that are jointly responsible for delivering the White Paper. The Secretary of State
for Trade and Industry formally launched SEPN on 4th June 2003.
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