Лекция: THE UK ECONOMY
Energy resources. The UK has large coal, natural gas, and oil reserves; primary energy production accounts for 10% of GDP, one of the highest shares of any industrial nation.
Due to North Sea oil, during the 1990s the UK became a net hydrocarbon exporter, and the second largest producer of oil in western Europe after Norway. In June 2004 hydrocarbon exports fell below imports for the first time, although they are not expected to do so permanently for some years.
Around about 80% of UK electricity is currently generated from fossil fuels; nuclear power and an increasing contribution from wind turbines make up the bulk of the remainder. The UK is the world's 8th greatest producer of carbon emissions, producing around 2.3% of the total generated from fossil fuels. The government is a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol and has launched a Climate Change Programme to reduce emissions significantly beyond the Kyoto commitments.
Due to the island location of the UK, the country has great potential for generating electricity from offshore windfarms, wave power and tidal power, although these have not yet been exploited on a commercial basis.
Manufacturing. In 2003, the latest year for which comparable statistics are available, Manufacturing industry accounted for 16% of national output in the UK and for 13% of employment, according to the Office for National Statistics. This is a continuation of the steady decline in the importance of this sector to the British Economy since the 1960s, although the sector is still important for overseas trade, accounting for 83% of exports in 2003. The regions with the highest proportion of employees in manufacturing were the East Midlands and West Midlands (at 19 and 18 per cent respectively). London had the lowest at 6 per cent.
Engineering and Allied Industries is the single largest sector, contributing 30.8% of total Gross Value Added in manufacturing in 2003. Within this sector, transport equipment was the largest contributor, with 8 global car manufacturers being present in the UK – BMW (MINI, Rolls Royce), Ford (Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover), General Motors (Vauxhall/Opel), Honda, Nissan, PSA (Peugeot), Toyota and Volkswagen (Bentley) with a number of smaller, specialist manufacturers (including TVR and Morgan) and commercial vehicle manufacturers ( including Leyland Trucks, LDV) also being present. Associated with this sector are the aerospace and defence equipment industries. The UK manufactures a broad range of equipment, with the sector being dominated by BAe Systems, who manufacture civil and defence aerospace equipment (including the wings for the Airbus range) and Rolls Royce who manufacture aerospace engines and power systems.
Another important component of Engineering and Allied industries is electrical and optical equipment, with the UK having a broad base of domestic and international firms manufacturing a range of TV, radio and communications goods, scientific and optical instruments, electrical machinery and office machinery and computers.
Chemicals and Chemical products are another important contributor to the UK’s manufacturing industry. Within this sector, the pharmaceutical industry is particularly successful, with the world’s second and third largest pharmaceutical firms (GlaxoSmithkline and AstraZeneca respectively) being based in the UK and having major research and development and manufacturing facilities there.
Other important sectors of manufacturing industry include Food, Drink and Tobacco, and Paper, Printing and Publishing.