Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing the world today

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing the world today. The UK recognises the severity and urgency of the issue, and is taking world-leading action at home and within the international community to try to bring about an effective response.    

In October 2008, the UK Government created the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).  This brought together two policy areas - energy policy and climate change mitigation policy - that had previously been dealt with by separate government departments, in order to coordinate the policies as effectively as possible. DECC liaises with other government departments and agencies that also have a role in climate change policy.

In November 2008, the Climate Change Act 2008 and the Energy Act 2008 became law.   The Climate Change Act is the world’s first long-term, legally binding framework to tackle the dangers of climate change, while the Energy Act outlines plans for the UK’s future energy supplies, with a focus on low-carbon energy. This legislation represents the UK’s strong commitment to tackling climate change, including by introducing ambitious policy measures.

Internationally, the major task ahead is to agree a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, whose first commitment period will end in 2012.  Negotiations will be carried out at a Conference of the Parties (COP 15) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to be held in Denmark in December 2009.  The UK wants to see an ambitious international agreement that aims to limit global temperature rise to +2 degrees above pre-industrial levels. This is the maximum increase the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) advises the world must stop at in order to avoid dangerous climate change.

These English-language pages of this website are designed to give an overview of UK policy on climate change and energy as it relates to Japan, as reflected in the work done by the British Embassy in Tokyo. For detailed information in the Japanese language, please see the Japanese version of these pages. For more information and the latest policy updates in English, please refer to the website of DECC or other government departments or organisations.