Way back in 2008 the UK Government introduced the Climate Change Act and set a goal to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 80% compared to levels in 1990.
What were the pledges established as a result of the Climate Change Act?
In summary:
The Government will push for the EU to demonstrate leadership in tackling international climate change, including by supporting an increase in the EU emission reduction target to 30% by 2020.
Seek to increase the target for energy from renewable sources, subject to the advice of the Climate Change Committee.
Continue public sector investment in carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology for four coal-fired power stations.
Create a green investment bank.
Establish an emissions performance standard that will prevent coal-fired power stations being built unless they are equipped with sufficient carbon capture and storage to meet the emissions performance standard.
Cancel the third runway at Heathrow.
Introduce a floor price for carbon.
Through the ‘Green Deal’, encourage home energy efficiency improvements paid for by savings from energy bills.
Reform energy markets to deliver security of supply and investment in low carbon energy.
Mandate a national recharging network for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
As a result of introducing the Climate Change Act, the Climate Change Committee was established who agreed the UK Carbon Budgets, as per below:
In 2019, efforts were stepped up, with an aim for the UK to bring down all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050; this is referred to as the UK net zero target.
Would this mean the end of all GHG’s?
Unfortunately, this is not possible. Those GHG’s that remain would need to be matched by actively removing GHG’s from the atmosphere.
How can this be done?
There are a number of ways you can help to achieve this goal:
Saving energy at home
Changing your property’s energy source
Walking, cycling or using public transport
Switching to an electric vehicle
Consider reducing air travel
Reducing, reusing, reporting and recycling
Eating more vegetables
Cutting food waste
Planting trees
Cleaning up the environment
Using more sustainable companies
So, is the country on track?
Following an assessment in July of this year by the Climate Change Committee, it would indicate that this is not the case.
The first two Carbon Budgets were achieved as shown above and, although final emissions data confirms the UK has achieved its Third Carbon Budget, largely due to a lack of demand for gas, there is still a long way to go.
Key points are as follows:
Van traffic remains too high, although car traffic levels have not returned to pre-pandemic levels
Sales of electric vehicles (both cars and vans) need to increase significantly
Onshore wind power installations need to double
Solar power installations need to increase by five times
Home heat pump installations need to increase significantly by the end of 2029 to ensure around 10% of homes are heated by this method
Peatland restoration and tree planting rates both need to more than double in order to achieve targets
The assessment that was undertaken discovered that the policies and plans put in place by the previous Government were insufficient to meet the UK’s targets, and progress has suffered due to policy reversals, delays and inconsistent communication.
Going forward…
With the Labour Party now in office, this provides them with an opportunity to progress and communicate clear and consistent messages to both businesses and households about how important climate action is.
If the Government tackle the following priority actions, this will ensure the UK meets that target:
Make electricity cheaper
Reverse recent policy rollbacks
Remove planning barriers for heat pumps, electric vehicle charge points and onshore wind
Introduce a comprehensive programme for decarbonisation of public sector buildings
Effectively design and implement the upcoming renewable energy CfD auctions
Accelerate electrification on industrial heat
Ramp up tree planting and peatland restoration
Finalise business models for large-scale deployment of engineered removals
Publish a strategy to support skills
Strengthen NAP3
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