24 June 2021, source edie newsroom
The UK Government has not yet backed up its long-term climate target of net-zero by 2050, often described as “world-leading” by Ministers, with realistic and ambitious delivery plans, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) is warning.
With current policies, the UK is only likely to deliver one-fifth of the emissions reductions needed by 2035
In its latest progress report to Parliament on reducing emissions, published today (24 June), the Committee states that the UK Government is failing to support “important statements of ambition” on decarbonisation with “firm policies”. In other words, despite the introduction of a legally binding net-zero target in 2019 and subsequent short-term funding pots like the £12bn provided in the Ten Point Plan, most high-emitting sectors are still unprepared to decarbonise at the scale and pace needed.
2020 is, overall, dubbed a year of “climate contradictions” between talk and action. The CCC has also pointed to “high-carbon blunders” in policymaking such as failure to block a new coal mine in Cumbria, voicing support for lowering green taxes on flights and closing the Green Homes Grant with less than 10% of the £2bn originally promised issued. The recent cut to overseas aid spending is additionally said to be “undermining” domestic green finance commitments.