Климатическая политика Великобритании до референдума о Брекзите

Abstract

The article is devoted to the problem of the UK policy on containment of global climate change mitigation since the 1990s to the date (June 23, 2016) of referendum about the UK exit from the European Union (Brexit). The UK engagement in solving the climate problem is considered through time: starting from the first approaches to reducing greenhouse gas emissions made by the conservative cabinet of John Major (1990–1997), via the attempts to outline the ways to effectively cut greenhouse gas emissions by domestic efforts while meeting the EU commitments and adhering to the United Nations climate agreement (Kyoto protocol) by the labour cabinets of Tony Blair (1997–2007) and Gordon Brown (2007–2010), and up to making concrete steps done by David Cameron – Nike Klegg coalition cabinet (2010–2015) and the conservative cabinet of D. Cameron (2015–2016) in order to implement international and domestic ‘green agenda’ during the UK recovery from a deep recession and afterwards. The problem is scrutinized with the use of a vast number of official documents and White papers on the climate change policy of British governments, the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change, the UK Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Foreign Office. The article shows that the implementation of energy efficiency programs and the diversification of the British energy sector towards rapid application of the low-carbon technologies (the nuclear power and the renewable energy sources) were the main driving force behind the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions as an important part of the domestic and international efforts for global climate change mitigation. The government support to the UK fast-growing green economy is seen in the article as the way to create the British and global low-carbon economy of the future.