The independent statutory body the Climate Change Committee (CCC) has recently warned of significant risks in the government’s delivery of their own plans to meet climate targets. The CCC have reported that only 39% of the required emission cuts were covered by well funded and timelined plans, and the remaining cuts required had either inadequate plans or no plans at all.
The UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) said “The Government needs to urgently fill the gaping holes in policy for industry to speed up, skill up and scale-up.”
The CCC published their report this month, every year before the end of June before the end of June it has to report to Parliament on their assessment of the Government’s performance in combatting climate change. They measure its actions, overall and Department by Department, against the national and international legal obligations to which Britain is committed.
These are physical barriers that prevent people being able to fall from erections. The height of the top rail should be at 1.2 m on the level that they’re working.
Lord Deben, Chairman of the Climate Change Committee said this:
In targets, the UK is indeed a world leader. However, this Progress Report reveals that, despite important achievements in renewable energy and electric vehicles, the Government is failing in much of its implementation. Sharply rising fuel costs should have given added impetus to improving energy efficiency, yet the necessary programmes are not in place. We are still building new homes that do not meet minimum standards of efficiency and will require significant retrofitting. Not only are we waiting for the promised Future Homes Standard but there is as yet no sign of the changes in the planning system necessary to reflect Britain’s legal obligations for climate mitigation.
The UK’s international leadership in commitments will only be effective if the world also knows that we will keep our word and that we have programmes in place that are clearly capable of delivering those commitments. Both issues must be put beyond question. For that reason the CCC will in future be concentrating even more centrally upon the delivery and implementation of the targets which are now enshrined in statute and international agreements. The Government has set the right course. It has now to deliver on the scale and urgency that is required.
The key messages from the report are:
- The UK Government now has a solid Net Zero strategy in place, but important policy gaps remain.
- Tangible progress is lagging the policy ambition. With an emissions path set for the UK and the Net Zero Strategy published, greater emphasis and focus must be placed on delivery.
- Successful delivery of changes on the ground requires active management of delivery risks. Not all policies will deliver as planned. Some may be more successful than expected, while others will fall behind.
- Action to address the rising cost of living should be aligned with Net Zero. There remains an urgent need for equivalent action to reduce demand for fossil fuels to reduce emissions and limit energy bills.
- Slow progress on wider enablers. The Net Zero Strategy contained warm words on many of the cross-cutting enablers of the transition, but there has been little concrete progress.
- The UK must build on a successful COP26. The UK presidency of the UN COP26 climate summit in Glasgow last November successfully strengthened long-term global ambition and introduced new mechanisms to support delivery. It should prioritise making those new mechanisms work in practice and strengthening global 2030 ambition, while preparing for a focus on climate finance and adaptation at COP27 in 2022 and COP28 in 2023.
To download the report please go here
