Significant new policy measures needed to reach emissions goals – CCC

The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has warned that the UK’s emission reduction targets are in danger of not being achieved due to current government inaction on climate change.

The CCC’s annual progress report to Parliament for 2017 says that it is ‘no longer justified or wise’ to further delay the publication of the government’s emission reduction plan that will outline how it intends to reach its targets. Inaction is making it difficult for public and private organisations in the UK to take advantage of the transition to a low carbon economy, says the CCC.

The CCC measures and holds the UK government to account on its progress towards the 2050 goal of an 80% reduction in emissions on 1990 levels. It does this through a series of five-yearly budgets. Progress on emissions reduction means the UK is on track to meet the second and third budgets, out to 2022, but to fall short on the fourth and particularly the fifth budget (2028–2032) – in the absence of new policies.

UK annual greenhouse gas emissions are currently around 42% lower than in 1990 – over half way towards the 2050 target. The CCC makes the point that these reductions have been achieved alongside a GDP growth of over 65% since 1990, and with energy bills falling since 2008 when the UK’s Climate Change Act was passed. But the CCC says that while progress has been made in the power sector, much needs to be done in the transport and heat sectors. It also says that the UK’s natural environment is worsening and it is becoming more vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

Questions have been raised over delays in the publication of the government’s much-anticipated Clean Growth Plan – initially known as the emissions reduction plan, which itself was delayed till March this year – which will outline a plan to reach the fifth carbon budget. The CCC says that the plan and effective new strategies and policies are urgently needed to ensure that emissions continue to fall in line with agreed commitments to a 50% reduction by 2025 and a 57% reduction by 2030.

It recommends that the Clean Growth Plan is urgently published, and that it addresses the gap between the agreed targets and the current emissions trajectory with existing policies. It says that additional low carbon electricity generation should be brought forward into the 2020s, that electric vehicle uptake is accelerated, that an effective strategy for carbon capture and storage is set out, and that a pathway is outlined for the uptake of low carbon heat.

The plan also needs to consider the risks and opportunities that may arise from the UK’s decision to leave the EU, says the report.

‘The UK has shown global leadership on climate change, but progress will stall at home without urgent further action,’ said Lord Deben, Chair of the CCC. ‘New plans, for a new Parliament, are needed as a matter of urgency to meet our legal commitments, grasp the opportunities offered by the global low carbon transition, and protect people, businesses and the environment from the impacts of a changing climate.’

‘The government’s focus needs to be on the future policy to drive decarbonisation across all sectors,’ said Oliver Rix, Partner at Baringa Partners. ‘Unfortunately other priorities, in particular Brexit, are likely to take up significant time and effort from experienced analytical and policymaking talent from within the civil service, especially as people are re-deployed to DExEU.’

He continued: ‘This means the government may not have the capacity – as it sorts through the mountain of policies and regulation untangling needed for Brexit – to tackle important but “under the radar” policies that could make a significant difference such as vehicle and product efficiency standards and labelling of appliances.’

 Energy professionals also largely agreed with the CCC’s analysis that the UK is not on track to meet the fifth carbon budget with current policies. A total of 77% of Energy Institute members responding to the EI’s annual Energy Barometer report thought that the UK would fall short or significantly short of the 2032 target.