Climate change

Find out how our canal and rivers can contribute to reducing carbon emissions and address climate change

Our climate is changing and urgent action is required both to adapt to these effects and to reduce the carbon emissions, which will cause further change in the future.

The 2008 Climate Change Act introduced legally binding carbon budgets aiming to cut UK emissions by 34 per cent by 2020. These limits on emissions will help drive change and every part of society and the economy will need to respond.

Although, given the small size of the sector, the contribution that inland waterways can make is necessarily modest, the Government is determined that appropriate policies are put in place so that the waterways play their part in contributing to the national programme.

Potential contributions that the inland waterways can make to the Government‟s strategy for climate change mitigation include:

• as alternative green transport routes that encourage commuters to use their cars less and travel to work on foot or by bicycle
• as potential green transport routes for freight and passengers
• a resource to attract more of the British public to holiday at home
• opportunities for renewable energy generation, such as small-scale hydropower, wind turbines and potentially significant amounts of tidal power from our estuaries.