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The independent body, which advises government on emissions targets, said today (28 June) that its confidence in the country meeting its goals from 2030 onwards is “markedly less” than it was one year ago amid approvals for new oil and gas plants and slow progress on key green policies.
The UK government’s Carbon Budget Delivery Plan (CBDP) provided much greater transparency on its net zero plans in the last year, the CCC said – but that transparency has been eclipsed by a lack of urgency on decarbonisation, according to the organisation’s Progress in reducing emissions report.
Responding to the report, Matthew Rooney, IMechE head of policy, said: “Achieving net zero is the most ambitious engineering project ever and it will be underpinned by technical skills. Delivering this skilled workforce for a low-carbon economy needs to be a priority focus at the highest level of government in Westminster, and across devolved administration and local authorities. As well as expanding the pipeline of new engineers and technicians, we need to equip those from mid- to late-career to retrain.
“The CCC’s progress report states that an action plan for net zero skills is overdue. Their previous report, A Net Zero workforce, suggested that up to 725,000 new net zero jobs could be created in the UK by 2030. This is a huge opportunity, and we should grasp it.”
The scale of the challenge – and the demand for skilled workers – is massive. UK greenhouse gas emissions have fallen 46% from 1990 levels, and a further commitment was made at COP26 in 2021 to reduce them by 68% by 2030. The recent rate of annual emissions reductions outside the electricity supply sector must therefore quadruple in only seven years.
“Time is now very short to achieve this change of pace,” the CCC said. “Glimmers of the net zero transition can be seen in growing sales of new electric cars and the continued deployment of renewable capacity, but the scale up of action overall is worryingly slow.
“The government continues to place their reliance on technological solutions that have not been deployed at scale, in preference to more straightforward encouragement of people to reduce high-carbon activities.”
The committee also flagged the risks of policies that are too slow to plant trees and roll out heat pumps.
Chairman Lord Deben said: “The lesson of my 10 years at the Climate Change Committee is that early action benefits the people of this country and helps us to meet the challenges of the coming decades more cheaply and more easily. Yet, even in these times of extraordinary fossil fuel prices, government has been too slow to embrace cleaner, cheaper alternatives and too keen to support new production of coal, oil and gas. There is a worrying hesitancy by ministers to lead the country to the next stage of net zero commitments.
“I urge the government to regroup on net zero and commit to bolder delivery. This is a period when pace must be prioritised over perfection.”
Support for new oil and gas, and the decision to consent a new coal mine in Cumbria, has sent “confusing signals” on the UK’s climate priorities, the CCC said.
The government’s “high ambitions” for decarbonised steel production are not matched by policies to deliver it, the body said, and it called for wider incentives for electrification of industry.
“The recent announcement of up to £20bn funding for carbon capture and storage is welcome, but detail and implementation of these spending plans is still to come,” it added.
The CCC also said the government must overcome uncertainty on the role of hydrogen in heating, with a strategic decision not expected until 2026. It should accelerate deployment of electric heating and press ahead with “low-regret energy infrastructure decisions”, the organisation said.
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Content published by Professional Engineering does not necessarily represent the views of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.