The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has rebuked the government for failing to deliver a pipeline of decarbonisation policies across several sectors, stressing that the time for it to address climate matters is running out.
Today the independent watchdog has issued its annual progress report to government, providing an update on measures taken by the government to meets its forthcoming fourth and fifth carbon budgets.
While the report states that power sector emissions have fallen “remarkably” since the advent of the Climate Change Act nearly a decade ago, reductions in other sectors have plateaued and even risen in the case of transport.
Lord Deben, chair at the CCC, said that while the UK might seek to lead the world in tackling climate change, the country continues to be off track in meeting its emissions targets in the 2020s and 30s.
“We recognise that over the last ten years, the government has shown it has the know-how and commitment to drive down UK emissions in the electricity sector by acting early and consistently to avoid costly interventions later. We now have to 3ensure that the government learns from this experience and presents a programme to tackle emissions right across the economy, including in buildings, transport and agriculture,” he said.
Amongst the four key recommendations to the government, the CCC is seeking the continuing support of the lowest-cost low carbon generation, a re-introduction of a route to market for the solar and onshore wind sectors and an end to the chopping and changing of government policies.
“Act now… get on with it”
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