Commenting on publication of the UK Climate Change Committee's
7th Carbon Budget MP, Chair of the ESNZ
Committee, said:
“The Climate Change Committee's 7th Carbon Budget makes clear the
huge prize to be won from a keen focus on the clean energy
transition. The question is not only about the increased
likelihood of cheaper energy bills, hundreds and hundreds of
pounds cheaper, as we progress towards the goal – it's about
avoiding massive hikes to bills from the next price shock
inherent in being reliant on fossil fuels. No one can look at
recent geo-political developments and imagine that further gas
price shocks are not coming. The UK spent £40 billion of
taxpayers' money cushioning the rise of just one winter's energy
bills in 2022. With public finances and services stretched to
breaking, we simply cannot afford to lose any more time.
“To win the gains of cheaper energy from low carbon technologies,
we need to capture the public's imagination – to incentivise and
win them over to the clear advantages in the clean energy sector,
that will bring costs down significantly. And to make the most of
the advantages available needs investment: significant, sustained
and steady. The CBI has said that the UK's green sector is now
growing at 3 times the rate of the wider economy. The CCC has set
out a pathway to spread that growth, productivity increase and
skilled job creation through our economy. This is the future and
we must invest in it, make the unambiguous case and bring the
public with us.”
Reacting to the Climate Change Committee's report on meeting the
Seventh Carbon Budget, Environmental Audit Committee Chair,
MP, said:
“Ice sheets melting, severe weather events, worsening pollution –
we need to wake up to the harsh realities of manmade climate
change. Our transition to a cleaner future isn't a quick or easy
fix. Some technological advances in development now will aid in
the transition, but we cannot rely on mythical ‘silver bullets'
which allow us to put off the hard choices we need to make to
mitigate and adapt to the changing climate. I welcome the Climate
Change Committee's forensic analysis of the current position, and
its advice on the steps to take to ensure that goals for reducing
the UK's emissions are met.
“The Climate Change Committee's recommendations go to the heart
of the Government's growth agenda: there is enormous potential in
the areas it has identified for improvement of the environment.
Ministers must not be afraid to take the giant leaps suggested.”
Aviation
“Aviation emissions continue to be hard to mitigate, and the
Government clearly has a lot of work to do to boost the take-up
of sustainable aviation fuels from the current mandate of 2% to
the recommended 17% by 2040. Our predecessor Committee urged
clear definitions of SAF, insisted on measures for the SAF
produced in the UK to be truly sustainable, and demanded
unremitting focus on the aviation industry's ambitious
decarbonisation plans. I would like to see an ironclad guarantee
for how total aviation emissions will be brought within carbon
budget limits before spades go into the ground at the UK airports
where capacity is to be increased.”
Heat pumps
“The Climate Change Committee's ambition to have heat pumps in
half of existing UK homes by 2040 represents a significant
increase on advice for previous carbon budgets. It also
represents a huge opportunity: we have heard just this week about
the thriving net zero economy in the UK, and the expansion in
green jobs associated with low carbon heating installations will
contribute to this. This opportunity can be further realised by
ensuring the 1.5 million homes that the Government has pledged to
be built in the next five years are, wherever possible, heated
and cooled with heat pump technology.”
Nature
“I am pleased to see the Climate Change Committee dedicate space
to nature in its report: meeting net zero and protecting nature
go hand in glove and this understanding must be seen in all
policymaking. Nature-based solutions can be used to lock in
damaging greenhouse gas emissions, capturing carbon in the most
effective way without the necessity of building expensive carbon
capture facilities. Proposals to increase the amount of land
given over to woodland and peatlands in England will nevertheless
raise questions over the allocation of land to different
purposes. The Government needs to find a way to answer these
questions: so I look forward to seeing the Government's response
to its recent consultation on a Land Use Strategy for England.”
Legislation and Parliamentary scrutiny
“It is no secret that international aviation and shipping
emissions are tricky areas to get under control. It makes it even
more critical that Parliament legislate to bring the UK's share
of these emissions within future carbon budgets.
“In the autumn Ministers will ask Parliament to vote on a legally
binding figure for the UK's emissions in the period from 2038 to
2042. The challenge for Government will be to explain to both
Houses, in advance of these decisions, the measures it plans to
put in place to make sure that this target can be met.”
