A government study indicated that the United Kingdom may substantially surpass carbon reduction targets, an accomplishment that Chris Huhne, secretary of state for energy and climate change, hopes will demonstrate to Durban that cuts are achievable. The report "shows other economies that, with the right planning, the transition to a low-carbon economy is achievable and affordable," said Huhne. Emissions have dropped by 25% since 1990, but the report indicated that those cuts were much easier to achieve than those needed over the next 20 years. Those cuts will require hundreds of billions of pounds of investment into the energy, transportation, and industrial sector. Currently, the United Kingdom is on track to meet its goal of halving emissions during the 2020s. Huhne recently fell under fire from the Labour party and from industry groups for the government's plan to reduce subsidies for solar. Huhne called the move a "sensible course correction" due to the decrease in the cost of panels, but Labour said the action would "strangle" the industry. For the full story, see http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/dec/01/uk-carbon-cutting-targets-research?newsfeed=true and http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/01/us-update-1-uk-on-track-for-2020-maps-ou-idUSTRE7B02D020111201. For the story on solar panels, see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-15981121.