The Climate Change Committee has raised concerns in response to the Prime Minister’s announcement regarding the government’s plan for achieving net zero emissions.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak decided to extend the deadline for prohibiting new petrol and diesel car sales in the UK, pushing it from 2030 to 2035.
Prime Minister’s rationale behind this delay is his belief that, by 2030, “the vast majority” of vehicles on the road will have transitioned to electric power due to the ongoing advancements in technology.
Furthermore, Sunak announced an extended timeframe for the shift from gas boilers to heat pumps, emphasising that there will be “considerably more time” for this transition.
To facilitate this change, the government will augment the boiler upgrade programme, increasing cash grants by 50% to a total of £7,500.
In response to the announcement, Professor Piers Forster, Chair of the Climate Change Committee said: “The government not only has a legal obligation to meet its net zero 2050 target. It also has a commitment to hit the interim emission reduction targets it has put into law.
“The Climate Change Committee has an obligation to assess progress towards those targets. In June, we said in our Progress Report that we were less confident in the government’s ability to deliver its 2030 and 2035 commitments than we were a year previously.
“We need to go away and do the calculations, but the announcement is likely to take the UK further away from being able to meet its legal commitments. This, coupled with the recent unsuccessful offshore wind auction, gives us concern.
“More action is needed and we await the government’s new plan for meeting their targets and look forward to receiving their response to our Progress Report, expected at the end of October.”
