A new emissions reduction plan for the UK will be revealed by “the end of the year”, energy and climate secretary Amber Rudd has announced.

Speaking to business leaders at an Aldersgate Group event this week, Rudd acknowledged that new policies are needed to ensure the UK meets its post-2020 carbon targets.

The remarks have sparked hope that the UK will implement a stronger climate change strategy after news in November that the country does not have the right policies in place to meet its current 2020 renewable energy targets.

While Rudd did not confirm whether any new policies are expected in the short term, she told the audience that the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has already started working with other departments on the new strategy.

The “full details” of a new “emissions reduction plan” are expected by the end of 2016, she said.

“I am clear that we must meet our obligations, but I am equally clear that this must not be at the expense of energy security, or by piling all the pain onto consumers,” Rudd said, echoing previous statements of hers on the DECC’s approach to tackling climate change. “We have to be pragmatic, and we have to take the public with us.”

Things expected to be included in the new plan include the government’s plans to switch from coal to gas, a fleet of new nuclear power stations, and an increase in investment in renewables capacity.

Energy efficiency, heat, industrial emissions and transport also require a new approach Rudd said, admitting that progress in these areas so far has been “slow”.

Energy storage and research and development will also be key focus areas in 2016, she said.

Photo: David Sheales via Flickr