The Government should follow the principles set out by Climate
Assembly UK and ensure fairness underpins the transition to net
zero, says the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
(BEIS) Committee in a report published today [Thursday].
The BEIS Committee’s report Climate Assembly UK: where
are we now? makes a series of recommendations to
Government on public engagement and education, on deliberative
democracy, and on the net zero transition, in order to capitalise
on the work of Climate Assembly UK (CAUK).
CAUK was the first UK-wide citizens’ assembly on climate change
and examined potential pathways to achieve the Government’s net
zero target to reduce UK greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The report urges the Government to come forward with the Net Zero
Review as a matter of priority, and to do so along with the Net
Zero Strategy, to ensure there is genuine consultation and
engagement with the public, businesses and industry to drive
forward efforts to decarbonise.
, Chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Committee, said: “Climate Assembly UK brought together
108 citizens over multiple weekends to agree a series of
recommendations to Government, as Ministers start to set out how
our net zero target will be implemented.
“At the heart of the CAUK proposals were the principles of public
engagement and fairness, but Ministers have so far failed to
engage the public on any of the big changes we expect to see in
the years ahead.
“Whether it’s decarbonising heating in our homes, reducing our
emissions from transport or dealing with changes in the
workplace, we know the net zero transition will soon become a
lived experience in every home across the country. There is a
great opportunity to make the net-zero transition a positive
experience. But the Government’s failure to engage the public
means we risk people viewing the net-zero transition in a
negative light and perceiving policy measures as being imposed.
“I hope the Government will take heed of our report, formally
accept the CAUK proposals as a basis to engage the wider public,
and not miss the opportunity of hosting COP26 to energise and
motivate the British people about the net zero opportunities
ahead of us.”
The report finds the Government's public engagement initiatives
to date, though welcome, are insufficient. The report notes the
Climate Change Committee (CCC) and the Public Accounts Committee
have both recently found that the Government's progress on public
engagement has been inadequate.
The report endorses the CCC’s call for the Government to publish
a net zero Public Engagement Strategy, and to do so alongside the
Net Zero Review, and recommends this includes detailed plans for
education and engagement, which are based on the conclusions of
the CAUK report. The report also recommends the Government, in
its Net Zero Strategy, sets out its plans for deliberative
engagement on net zero policies through citizens assemblies,
citizens juries and other methods.
The BEIS Committee’s report notes that the Government has not yet
provided a full response to the Climate Assembly UK report. The
Committee’s report calls on the Government to publish a
comprehensive, point-by-point response to the CAUK’s report.
The report also calls on the Government to re-double its efforts
to lead a joined-up approach to net zero with local authorities,
business and citizens. The report finds the inadequacy of cross
departmental coordination across Whitehall in delivering net zero
has been brought into sharp focus in the context of the UK’s
Presidency of COP26, and the increased focus on and scrutiny of
Government policy and activity in the run up to the conference.
Cross -departmental co-ordination will be the focus of the BEIS
Committee’s new inquiry into Net Zero
Governance.
