The UK Government’s new Net Zero Strategy sets out for the first time how the Government intends to halve UK emissions in little over a decade, and to eliminate them by 2050. It is an achievable, affordable plan that will bring jobs, investment and wider benefits to the UK. It is also a strong example to bring to the COP26 summit of how to follow climate change targets with action.
That’s the conclusion of a new independent assessment of the Net Zero Strategy published today by the Climate Change Committee (CCC). Chairman, Lord Deben, said:
“The Net Zero Strategy is a genuine step forward. The UK was the first major industrialised nation to set Net Zero into law – now we have policy plans to get us there. As we welcome world leaders to COP26 in Glasgow, that is an important statement.”
“Until now, only the Climate Change Committee had offered a path to Net Zero. Now we have the Government’s own plan for meeting the UK’s emissions targets. Ministers have made the big decisions – to decarbonise the power sector by 2035, to phase out petrol and diesel vehicles, to back heat pumps for homes. And they have proposed policies to do it. I applaud their ambition. Now they must deliver these goals and fill in the remaining gaps in funding and implementation. My Committee will hold their feet to the fire, as we are required to under the Climate Change Act. This is the UK’s climate governance working as it should.”
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