UK off track for Net Zero, say country’s climate advisors - The Climate Change Committee

The Climate Change Committee’s assessment is that only a third of the emissions reductions required to achieve the country’s 2030 target are currently covered by credible plans. Our 2030 target is the first one set in line with a Net Zero trajectory.

This news comes against the backdrop of a more positive story – that the country’s emissions are now less than half the levels they were in 1990. This is largely due to the phase out of coal and the ramping up of renewables. This project has been a huge success – but to continue to decarbonise
the UK we will now need to see ambitious action not just in the energy sector, but also across transport, buildings, industry and agriculture. The plans in place from the previous Government will not deliver enough action.

The Committee has written a priority list of ten recommendations. Top among these are to make electricity cheaper, reverse recent policy rollbacks, and ramp up rates of tree planting and peatland restoration.

Much of the low carbon technology needed is already available. Yet almost all our indicators for the scale up and roll out of that technology are off track, with rates needing to significantly ramp up. By 2030:

• Annual offshore wind installations must increase by at least three times, onshore wind installations will need to double and solar installations must increase by five times.
• Approximately 10% of existing homes in the UK will need to be heated by a heat pump, compared to only approximately 1% today.
• The market share of new electric cars needs to increase from 16.5% in 2023 to nearly 100%.