UK Energy by End Use
Nearly all of the primary energy we use in the UK is in the form of coal, oil and gas. This energy is the source of almost all our emissions – emissions which must be slashed to reduce the risk of catastrophic climate change.
When considering this challenge, rather than look at the primary energy, it’s useful to look at what we use the energy for.
Given the recent press about “keeping the lights on” you might think most of our energy is for generating electricity for lighting and appliances. But you’d be wrong. Using DECC’s energy consumption statistics for the UK, I put together the pie chart above to illustrate.
The result? We mainly use energy for just two things: heat and transport. In other words, almost all the energy we use is for warming things up or moving things around. And only a tiny proportion is for lighting.
So the next time you hear the word energy, don’t think electricity. Don’t even think oil and gas. Think heat and transport – this is where we’ve got to innovate to meet our carbon targets.
Agreed, but don’t forget outsourced energy/embodied energy Casey.
All that lovely food and those lovely gadgets that we import are often manufactured inefficiently in countries with subsidised fossil fuels and cheap labour. This has been unwinding over the past decade – manufacturing quality kit efficiently in Europe being more cost effective than manufacturing junk badly in China – but as it unwinds you’ll move all that energy back onto UK plc’s balance sheets.
Buying less crap, eating well, having more jobs available, and living nearer friends and family in nicer houses. The future sounds awesome. Saul Griffith sells it better though!
The other fun trend is this one:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/11882915/Deflation-supercyle-is-over-as-world-runs-out-of-workers.html
(the future is going to be a good time for the working man and woman)