Today (28th June) the Climate Change Committee released their 2023 Report to Parliament on the progress of reducing the UKs carbon emissions. It makes for some damning reading. The CCC are a public body who give independent advice to the Government on their plans for tackling and preparing for climate change.
The full report can be read here. But at over 430 pages it’s quite a long read where the CCC frequently criticise the government’s failure act. Our CEO and Founder, Sarah Merrick, has summarised her key thoughts and takeaways from it.
The CCC is clear – we need a lot more wind and solar to meet net zero but the planning system is currently preventing new wind farms and solar parks being built, and the grid upgrades needed to connect them to the system. This has to change, quickly. Ripple enables individuals to play a genuine part in the energy transition. But we need the Government to make net zero a real priority, we’re beyond the point of commitments and targets, we need real action and bold delivery, fast.
The Climate Change Committee laid out a clear and unequivocal message. We must:
- Make net zero a real priority
- Don’t just talk the talk.The UK has lost the lead on delivering net zero due to a distinct lack of action over the last 10 years. In contrast, other countries have made real, substantial progress. We need to catch up now, or risk losing out forever.
- Stop new oil, gas & coal
- This one is simple. Everyone knows new oil, gas and coal can never be compatible with a net zero future. So act boldly. Stop all new oil and gas. Instead focus on renewables. Energy technologies that have actually got a bright future.
- Sort out heavy industry
- We want heavy industry in this country. But it needs to be compatible with a net zero future. So we need to make it green. That means zero carbon steel – like the government promised they were going to do. Read more about zero carbon steel here.
- Sort out the planning system
- Make the planning system deliver for Net Zero. The planning system is stopping new wind farms and solar parks being built. And the new grid lines needed to connect them too. The Government are in charge of the planning system – it needs a major overhaul to make it fit for Net Zero. There is overwhelming public support for new wind farms and solar parks, now we need to be allowed to build them.
- Plant trees + restore peat land use
- Commitments to afforestation and peat restoration have been made but implementation is falling well behind the required pace. You can read a more detail analysis from Carbon Brief on how the UK’s land sector has currently become a source, rather than a sink, of carbon emissions
- Deploy more heat pumps
- Heat pumps are a great solution for decarbonsiing the heat sector. Hydrogen is not. Stop wasting time exploring whether hydrogen may be the future of home heating. Instead focus on the solutions which already work. The Government has committed to delivering 800,000 heat pumps, now they need to deliver it.
- No net airport growth
- New airports and extensions of existing airports increase emissions. The government need to ban expansions. And don’t allow any further expansions until decisions have been made about which ones are closing.
- Deploy existing tech
- There is no technological “silver bullet” which will fix climate change. And the Government are wasting time waiting for one. The solutions exist already, now we just need to adopt them, faster.
We have the solutions for a cleaner, greener future already. Our members are already playing a key part in the energy transition and enabling new renewables to be built. They’re taking real action, despite the government inaction. But they can’t do it alone. What we need now is real action from the government with bold delivery, fast.
