Top advisers say previous government’s climate policy changes need to be reversed to cut people’s bills

Reversing the previous government’s decision to scrap or scale back some climate policies would help cut the cost of living and cut bills, says a UK climate campaigner.

The Climate Change Committee (CCC) said there was “no evidence” that Rishi Sunak last year he argued that weakening climate measures would save people moneyand found that “inconsistent messages” can actually have the opposite effect.

Acting Director General Dr James Richardson said: “These policy rollbacks have delivered nothing, will slow down progress, will not help households with high energy bills or improve the UK’s energy security.

“To do this, we must accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels.”

But “rapidly reinstating” old targets for heat pumps, electric vehicles and home insulation would “limit” the damage and save people money, now or in the longer term, it said.

How is the implementation of climate goals currently progressing in the country?

In its annual assessment of the UK’s performance on climate action, the commission delivered a rather grim verdict.

The statement said the country was “not on track” to cut emissions by 68% from 1990 levels by 2030, and that the “credible plan” included only a third of the necessary cuts in polluting gases.

Achieving this goal would reduce some bills and increase energy security, the release said.

The new government has made a “good start” on greening the power system, including by lifting the ban on onshore wind power, key advisers said.

But they warned that Labour must also tackle transport and housing issues, plant many more trees and cut the price of electricity so people can reap the benefits of switching to heat pumps and electric vehicles.

The annual progress report also stated:

• Electricity bills would be lower if social and environmental taxes were removed and collected elsewhere – for example from gas bills or general taxes. This could increase gas bills, but would encourage a switch to green technologies.

• The market share of new electric cars (EVs) must increase from the current 16.5% to almost 100% by 2030 – but they should become cheaper to buy in the next few years.

• Restoring the now-abolished energy efficiency standards for property owners would lower bills for tenants.

• “It is particularly unclear how (the previous government’s) 20 per cent exemption from the ban on fossil fuel boilers will help reduce costs” when so few households would then bear the cost of maintaining the network.

• By 2030, the annual number of offshore wind installations must triple, onshore double and the number of solar installations fivefold.

• 10% of homes should be equipped with a heat pump, compared to 1% currently.

• Currently, only five of the 22 targets are on track to be achieved, such as reducing energy demand in buildings and car traffic, likely due to high bills and the pandemic.

• But we are a long way off target on issues like van traffic, electric vehicles, heat pumps and tree planting.

The report appears after England was flooded with the wettest 18 months in its history since 1836, when records began to be kept, leading to the destruction of poor farmers’ crops and disruption of railway traffic.

Therefore, “we need to make our whole society much more resilient” to the impacts of climate change by increasing “unambitious” adaptation plan– said Professor Piers Forster, interim chairman of the commission.

He also called for an “honest conversation” about both the costs of achieving net zero emissions and the benefits for society as a whole.

Jonny Marshall of the Resolution Foundation thinktank said some of the measures had the “potential to improve the budgets of lower-income households” – but only if they were managed in a stable and fair way.

He warned that changes to electricity bills risked increasing gas bills, but added that a social tariff could protect vulnerable households.

Why Advisors Are Optimistic About Climate Action

But despite the grim messages, commission members said there was reason to cheer.

The UK’s emissions have already fallen by more than half (53%) compared to 1990 levels, largely due to the end of the use of coal for power generation and the increase in the use of renewable energy sources.

Three previous major targets – known as “carbon budgets” – to cut greenhouse gas emissions have been met under previous Labour and Conservative governments.

The rapid growth in the number of electric cars is now producing “measurable” results in the form of reduced pollutant emissions, the report says.

Professor Forster said it was “absolutely” possible to achieve the 2030 target if the Government followed the CCC recommendations.

Acting chief executive Dr James Richardson said he was “very pleased with the sharp fall in prices for some of these key technologies” such as batteries and solar panels.

These impacts “will really change not only the net zero agenda but also household bills.”

Dr Emily Nurse, head of net zero emissions at the CCC, said she was hopeful about heat pumps because other countries had already shown us “it can be done”.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “The good news is that the report confirms that a clean energy future is the best way to make the UK energy independent, cut bills, create good jobs and tackle the climate crisis.”

A Conservative Party spokesman said: “As the CCC recognises, we have reduced our carbon emissions more than any other G20 country, while growing our economy by 80%.

“The climate lobby and Labour want to push to go further and faster, but if that comes at the cost of extra costs for vulnerable families or sends our businesses overseas to more polluting countries, then it will do more harm than good to global carbon emissions.”