2050 Pathways analysis

The 2050 Challenge

The UK is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% by 2050, relative to 1990 levels. We need a transformation of the UK economy while ensuring secure, low carbon energy supplies to 2050, and face major choices about how to do this. In 2010, DECC built the 2050 Calculator to help the public engage in the debate, and for Government to ensure its short- and medium-term planning was consistent with achieving the long-term aim. In the Carbon Plan published in December 2011, we used the Calculator to illustrate three 2050 futures that show some of the plausible routes towards meeting the target.

Create Your Pathway

Try out your ideas and find your own way to reduce UK greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050.

The 2050 Web tool uses real UK data to show the impact of your choices.
Pathways Analysis

Find out more about how the 2050 pathways analysis has been put together and how you can contribute to improving it.

The Excel 2050 Calculator allows you to explore your pathway in greater depth.
Lead your own debate

Download a ready-made toolkit to help you lead an energy debate in your school using My2050 and the 2050 Calculator.

Download toolkit

Play My2050:
Launch My2050
International work

Find out how DECC is working with other countries to develop 2050 Calculators on our International collaboration pages.

2050 Pathways analysis

The 2050 Pathways work presents a framework through which to consider some of the choices and trade-offs we will have to make over the next forty years. It is system-wide, covering all parts of the economy and all greenhouse gases emissions released in the UK. It is rooted in scientific and engineering realities, looking at what is thought to be physically and technically possible in each sector.

On these pages, you can try out different ways of securing a low-carbon future for the UK by creating your own pathway using the 2050 Web Tool. If you're short of time, you can explore what a low-carbon UK might look like in 2050 by playing the simplified My2050 simulation. And if you want to take the debate into the classroom, you can download the resources we have made available in our schools toolkit.

We believe it is essential to be transparent about the assumptions and approach used in the 2050 work. So in the 'Pathways analysis' section, you can explore the detail of each sector in the open-source Calculator, read about the assumptions we made to build the model in the 2050 Pathways analysis report and find out how we have used stakeholder input to improve the Calculator. You can also read more about the 2050 pathways Government has developed, and the 2050 futures that are set out in the Carbon Plan.

You can also contact the 2050 Team.