When 189 nations signed the Millennium Declaration in September 2008, consenting to adopt the eight development targets and take steps to achieve them by 2015, many of us enthusiastically welcomed the notion of launching into an idealistic new future, only to turn our backs on the Declaration seconds later and continue with our busy lives. Particularly when it came to Goal Number Seven: 'ensure environmental sustainability,' we nod, right, great idea! Government, you do something about it.



While many governments have taken steps to reduce their state's carbon footprint on our exceedingly fragile earth, Great Britain has often been criticised for not doing as much as other countries to reduce carbon emissions. So how can we, as individuals, be expected to help ensure environmental sustainability?

In the recent years, Britain has done much to catch up to its green rivals, namely in the form of the Microgeneration Strategy, which was introduced two years ago by the Society of British Gas Industry. The Microgeneration Strategy is a mass-scale plan attempting to greatly reduce CO2 emissions. It aims to do this by providing zero- and low- carbon solutions for businesses, domestic homes, and communities. Its main targets are for all new homes to be zero-carbon by 2016, and all new non-domestic dwellings to achieve the same by 2019. Although this is later than the original timing set by the Millennium goals, it is still a very strong declaration of intent.

So what form will these microgenerators take, and how will this be applied? Mainly through small energy generators, such as windmills and solar panels. The idea is that all future buildings be equipped with these small solar and wind generators. The benefits of this approach is that it will enable future homes and businesses to produce and supply their own energy on a local scale, making them self sufficient.

What make microgenerators more beneficial on a smaller-scale is that they engender a self-sufficiency among domestic dwellings (particularly homes with no access to the main gas network), communities, and businesses, which decreases their dependence on the government for energy management. Self-sufficient energy management and helping create a greener world for us all seems like a win-win situation.

Microgenerators systems also have disadvantages in the way that they are not necessarily accessible to everyone. Microgeneration is not suitable for a minority of homes, whereas some business establishments such as shops have little access to this technology at all. Moreover, since microgenerators are a quite modern development, there are still only few specialists who know how to install a private energy producing unit. Microgenerators are not exactly cost-friendly either, which reaffirms the old argument that the future of sustainable development will not begin until costs fall significantly.

So is microgeneration the best way to ensure environmental sustainability? Policy makers, such as UK Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks think so. As long as the government makes more information readily available about the benefits and disadvantages of microgeneration, and provides the proper financial schemes and support, then most people should have no problem embracing this technology. However, until technology improves and its prices come down significantly, none of this obviates the need for other crucial targets such as reducing energy wastages and improving our domestic recycling.