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The UK is one of the countries which has exceeded its "goal" for CO2 reduction under the Kyoto treaty (the treaty required an 8% reduction compared to 1990 levels; the actual reduction has been around 15%), although it looks likely to fail to meet a more ambitious target set by the UK government in a 2007 "Climate Change Bill" (the target is a 60% reduction by 2050, with an intermediate goal of around 30% by 2020).
This goal has been met by dramatically raising fuel duties (to encourage people to buy fuel-efficient vehicles), and introducing a rigorous "carbon trading" system, with heavy tax penalties for industries which fail to reduce their emissions.
It can be done - and it's been something which has had broad cross-party political support - but not without a certain amount of "pain" in everyone's pockets, in terms of more higher fuel prices. My gut feeling, however, is that the majority of people in this country have been - "happy" is probably the wrong word - "willing to accept" the necessity of it for the "greater good".
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