UK SBS BLOJEU-CR16120BEIS - UK 2050 Calculator Update - Project 1 External Modelling

Tender description

The UK's Climate Change Act was passed in 2008 and established a framework to develop an economically credible emissions reduction path, setting a target of reducing greenhouse emissions by at least 80% in 2050 from 1990 levels. On November 17th 2016, the UK Government signed the Paris Climate Agreement, which provides a framework for governments as well as business and investors to keep global warming below 2°C, pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C. Furthermore, one of the main aims of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is to ensure the UK has a reliable, low cost, and clean energy system, with reducing greenhouse gas emissions being central to this. The UK 2050 Calculator provides a tool to allow users to investigate ways of tackling climate change, and reducing UK greenhouse gas emissions to a level consistent with the Climate Change Act 2008. The UK 2050 Calculator was first published in 2011 alongside the Carbon Plan . The calculator was re-released in 2012 to incorporate costs with a 2007 baseline. The calculator has a web-interface, supporting spreadsheet and data. There are 40 "levers" of change with a range of options for each one. The calculator is deliberately simple, quick and can keep a record of stakeholders' chosen pathways. The calculator was developed in a very open and transparent way. It went through an extensive call-for-evidence, stakeholder workshops, and was continually updated using stakeholder feedback. It is a very useful tool for assessing the merit of pursuing different low carbon technologies; for example, the original 2050 calculator was used to generate scenarios for the 2011 Carbon Plan. It is also very helpful in stakeholder engagement; for example, the original calculator was used for public engagement at the British Energy Challenge roadshow. The UK 2050 Calculator hasn't been updated for a number of years, therefore is currently out-of-date. BEIS aims to increase the impact of the tool by aligning its underlying assumptions with other BEIS models, updating the lever and level assumptions, improving its functionality, and extending the timeline so that it operates within to 2100. The updated calculator will be used to improve the modelling capability of BEIS and support stakeholder engagement in climate change.