The government has failed to implement the policies needed to achieve the UK’s net zero targets, its legal advisers said in a humiliating progress report to parliament.
The Climate Change Committee (CCC) has expressed concerns that ministers may abandon the legally binding commitment to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, noting “major policy failures” and “scarce evidence of implementation”.
Lord Deben, chairman of the commission and former Conservative environment minister, said the government had set strong targets for reducing emissions, but lacked a policy to achieve them. “The government wanted the goals, but not the funds,” he said. “This report has shown that the current plans will not deliver on their commitments [to net zero]”
He said zero-net policies are also the best way to reduce rising living costs. Household average bills would be around £ 125 lower today if previous green energy and energy efficiency plans were followed. “If you want to deal with the cost of living crisis, this is exactly what you need to do,” he said.
The biggest failure was the isolation policy. British homes are the strongest winds in Western Europe, heating costs are crippling household budgets, and heating is one of the largest single sources of carbon emissions, but the government has no plans to help most people insulate their homes.
“This is a political psychological problem – somehow our politicians do not see energy efficiency as something they can stick to and claim merit,” Deben said.
Deben also made proposals for a new coal mine in Cumbria. A decision on this is expected by July 7th. “[This] the coal mine is absolutely indefensible, “Deben said. “Eighty percent of the coal produced will be exported; it will not contribute anything to our internal needs. [On the international stage] this creates another example of Britain saying one thing and doing another.
He also questioned the viability of fracking. Although the commission could not call for a ban, he said potential investors should be informed that the government’s climate plans call for a phasing out of gas use in the mid-2030s, unless accompanied by capture and storage. of carbon.
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However, Deben said he was “not worried” about increasing the production of coal-fired power plants in response to rising energy prices, calling it a “short-term measure” needed to “keep the lights on” that would have little long-term impact on emissions. .
In its annual progress report to parliament, the CCC indicated how it monitored the stages on the road to achieving the net zero target. In some of them, the government is performing well – for example, renewable energy production has increased significantly and the uptake of electric vehicles has been boosted by the government’s goal of phasing out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030.
But they have been accompanied by remarkable failures, such as a lack of clear policies for the 12% of emissions in the UK that come from farming and land use. “Defra [the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs] it really doesn’t work, “said Chris Stark, CCC’s chief executive.
Stark also noted widespread concerns in political circles that the government, after strengthening its goals on the eve of last year’s UN climate summit Cop26, is changing course in response to the cost-of-living crisis.
Stark said that while there had been no major policy overturns, he was concerned about the “change in rhetoric” coming from ministers.
Ed Matthew, campaign director at the E3G think tank, said: “This report is an accusation of the government’s absolute failure to support its ambitious goals with credible action across the economy.
Well, McCarthy, a political activist at Greenpeace UK, contrasts the lack of isolation measures with the incentives for new fossil fuel research: “The cost of living crisis must add impetus to the kind of action we need to take to stop climate change. destruction of energy waste from our homes. Yet this government seems to intend instead to stimulate action by the fossil fuel giants by offering tax breaks to encourage new drilling under the false pretext that it will get us out of this mess.
A government spokesman said: “The UK is ahead of most other countries, with around 40% of our energy now coming from cleaner and cheaper renewables. This is backed by £ 6 billion in funding to make our homes and buildings more energy efficient, planting up to 30,000 hectares of new trees a year and more electric cars than ever on our way. [We are] decarbonisation of our cars and vans faster than any other developed country. ”
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