climate

Government warned against loosening future targets on emissions cuts

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The government’s climate advisor has warned ministers against weakening the budgets on carbon emission.

Emissions from the Horndean oil field in 2022. Photo: Clean Air Task Force

In a letter to the climate minister, Graham Stuart, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) advised that loosening future targets could put UK legally-binding commitments at risk.

The UK over-achieved on the emissions cuts required by the Third Carbon Budget, covering the period 2018-2022. Emissions reductions were 15% below the level required by the budget (2,544 MtCO2e).

Mr Stuart asked the CCC for advice on whether these surplus emissions cuts could be carried forward to help meet future carbon budgets.

In its reply today, the CCC said:

“The Committee’s unequivocal advice is that surplus emissions from the Third Carbon Budget should not be carried forward.”

The letter said most of the surplus in the Third Carbon Budget was due to external factors, including the impact of covid 19.

The interim chair of the CCC, Professor Piers Forster, congratulated the government on meeting the target in the Third Carbon Budget. But he said:

“the path ahead is tougher and we risk losing momentum if future legal targets are loosened on a technicality. The UK is already substantially off track for 2030 and the Government must resist the temptation to take their foot off the accelerator.

“Achieving future carbon budgets will require a sustained increase in the pace and breadth of decarbonisation across most major sectors.”

He said:

“We need to build on our success to date by accelerating, not slowing down, emissions reductions in all sectors outside electricity supply.”

Professor Forster said carrying forward the surplus would weaken the message on UK decarbonisation. It would cause uncertainty and could make meeting the target of net zero emissions by 2050 more expensive and harder to achieve.

He recognised “good progress” in the decarbonisation of electricity supply. But in most other sectors, such as transport and buildings, he said the UK was not on track and progress would need to accelerate rapidly.

The CCC said today’s advice was consistent with its previous guidance to government on surplus emissions.

In 2019, the government carried over 88 MtCO2e from the second to the third carbon budget, against CCC advice.  

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1 reply »

  1. From the start, the cross party political consensus on Net Zero, has totally excluded the entire population in the decision making process of a huge scale policy with far reaching consequences.

    The CCC’s, the Treasury’s and the Office for Budget Responsibility’s claims that Net Zero would have minimal costs, and that it could boost productivity and economic growth are proving to be false.

    To continue further down the Net Zero path without any meaningful debate, proper costings, cost benefit analysis or to give voters the choice to vote against it, is both unconstitutional and undemocratic.