Building back better - Raising the UK’s climate ambitions for 2035 will put Net Zero within reach and change the UK for the better
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The Climate Change Committee (CCC) today presents the first ever
detailed route map for a fully decarbonised nation. A world first.
Last year, the UK became the first major economy to make Net Zero
emissions law. In its newlandmark 1,000-page report, the CCCsets
outthepath to that goal over the next three decades, including the
first ever detailed assessment of the changes that will result–and
the key milestones that must be met. The Sixth Carbon Budget
(2033-2037) chartsthedecisive move...Request free trial
The Climate Change Committee
(CCC) today presents
the first ever detailed
route map for a fully
decarbonised nation. A world
first.
Last year, the UK became the first major economy to make Net Zero emissions law. In its newlandmark 1,000-page report, the CCCsets outthepath to that goal over the next three decades, including the first ever detailed assessment of the changes that will result–and the key milestones that must be met. The Sixth Carbon Budget (2033-2037) chartsthedecisive move to zero carbonfor the UK. The CCCshowsthat polluting emissions mustfall by almost 80% by 2035,compared to 1990 levels–a bigstep-up in ambition. Just 18 months ago this was the UK’s 2050 goal. To deliver this, amajor investment programme across the country must be delivered, in large measure by the private sector. That investment will also be the keytothe UK’s economic recoveryin the next decade. In many areas, thisgives people real savings, as the nation uses fewer resources and adopts cleaner, more-efficient technologies,like electric cars, to replace their fossil-fuelled predecessors. The CCC finds that these savings substantiallyreduce the cost of Net Zero compared with previous assessments:now down to less than 1% of GDP throughout the next 30 years. This is thanks, not onlyto the falling cost of offshore windbut also a range ofnewlow cost, low-carbon solutions in every sector. Climate Change Committee Chairman, Lord Deben, said: “The Sixth Carbon Budget is a clear message to the world that the UK is open for low-carbon business. It’s ambitious, realisticand affordable. This is the right carbon budget for the UK at the right time. We deliver our recommendations to Government with genuine enthusiasm, knowing that Britain’s decisive zero-carbon transition brings real benefits to our people and our businesses while making the fundamentalchanges necessary to protect our planet.” “As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sixth Carbon Budget is a chance to jump-startthe UK’s economic recovery.Anything less would shut us out of new economic opportunities. It would also undermine our role as President of the next UN climate talks.” The CCC’s message to Government is clear: the 2020s must be the decisive decade of progress and actionon climate change. By the early 2030s,every new car and van, and every replacement boiler mustbe zero-carbon; by 2035, allUK electricityproduction will be zero carbon. Modern low-carbon industries will grow;producinghydrogen;capturingcarbon; creatingnew woodlands;renovatingand decarbonising the UK’s28million homes. These provide hundreds of thousands ofjobs throughout the UK. The CCC concludesthat these changes are feasible and affordable but only if they are led by decisive action from Governmentnow. And the process must also be fair and just–the report includes important new insightsinto how the costs and the benefits of Net Zero can be shared more evenly. These are fundamentally desirablegoals, bringingmultiple wider benefits including better health, and an improved natural environment. With bold new climate commitments from China and,soon,the US, over half of global greenhouse emissions will shortly be covered by Net Zero targets. This has brought the goals of the Paris Agreement within reach. If the CCC’s recommendations are adopted by Ministers next year, the Sixth Carbon Budget will position the UK as a true global climate leader,as it prepares to host heads of statefor the next major climate summit in Glasgow. The Sixth Carbon Budget can be met through four key steps: 1.Take up of low-carbon solutions.People and businesseswillchoose to adopt low-carbon solutions,as high carbon options are progressively phased out. By the early 2030s all new cars and vans and all boiler replacements in homes and other buildings arelow-carbon-largely electric. By 2040 all new trucks are low-carbon. UK industry shiftsto using renewable electricity or hydrogen instead of fossil fuels,or captures its carbon emissions, storing them safely underthe sea. 2.Expansion of low-carbon energy supplies.UK electricity production is zero carbon by 2035. Offshore wind becomes the backbone of the whole UK energy system, growing from the Prime Minister’s promised 40GW in 2030 to 100GW or more by 2050.New uses for this clean electricity are found in transport, heating and industry, pushing up electricity demand by a half over the next 15 years, and doubling or even trebling demand by 2050. Low-carbon hydrogen scales-up to be almost as large, in 2050, as electricity production is today. Hydrogen is used as a shippingand transportfueland in industry, and potentially in some buildings, as a replacement for natural gasfor heating. 3.Reducing demand for carbon-intensive activities. The UK wastes fewer resources and reducesits reliance onhigh-carbon goods. Buildings lose less energy througha national programme to improve insulation across the UK. Diets change, reducing our consumption of high-carbon meat and dairy productsby 20% by 2030, with further reductions in later years. There are fewer car miles travelled and demand for flights grows more slowly. These changes bring striking positive benefits for health and well-being. 4.Land and greenhouse gas removals.There is a transformation inagriculture and the use of farmlandwhile maintaining the same levels of food per head produced today. By 2035,460,000 hectares of new mixed woodland are planted to remove CO2and deliver wider environmental benefits.260,000 hectares of farmland shiftsto producing energy crops.Woodland risesfrom 13% of UK landtoday to 15% by 2035and 18% by 2050. Peatlands are widely restored and managed sustainably. Notes to editors 1.Under the UK Climate Change Act, the UK must reach Net Zero Greenhouse Gas emissions by 2050. The Act also requires the Government to set a new Carbon Budget every five years, following the advice of the Climate Change Committee. The Sixth Carbon Budget must be legislated by June 2021. 2.The Committee’s report The Sixth Carbon Budget: The UK’s path to Net Zero,inthree parts, will be published at 00:01 on the morning of 9 December 2020. It will be available on the CCC’s website from that time: www.theccc.org.uk/publications. 3.Together, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland cover a fifth of UK emissions. They have an integral role in delivering the UK’s Sixth Carbon Budget on the path to Net Zero. The Committee is shortly due to advise Welsh ministers on Welsh emissions targets in the 2030s and has written to the Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive to provide further advice on setting andmeeting climate targets. 4.The CCC’s recommended Sixth Carbon Budget includes emissions from international aviation and shipping (IAS). Its recommended UN nationally-determined contribution(NDC)to the UN does not include emissions from international aviation and shipping, in line with UN convention. 5.UK territorial emissions in 2019 were 41% below 1990 levels. |