The UK’s plan to work towards net zero emissions by 2050

Climate change continues to be a core focus of international policy and strategy. With the recent appointment of Boris Johnson as the new PM, industry leaders have been keen to understand how this change would influence future energy and environmental policies and the emission targets set for 2050. Whilst Boris Johnson made it quite clear in his inaugural speech that climate change will remain at the core of government policy, evidence suggests that we are currently missing our anticipated targets.

In a recent speech, climate activist Greta Thunberg suggested that the 2050 targets for the UK are potentially causing more damage than intended. Thunberg explained to media that the 2050 target sends a message that we can continue at our current level for a number of years to come. Whilst the target is a positive move, energy, and environmental industry leaders have urged the government to make significant alterations over the next few years, starting now is the crucial period of time when changes need to be made.

The UK became the first major economy to implement laws to stop its contribution to global warming by 2050. Lord John Deben, the chairman of the Committee of Climate Change states, however, that International ambition doesn’t necessarily deliver domestic action. Deben believes the government needs to prove it takes its responsibility more seriously, highlighting that reducing emissions to net-zero requires significant government action.

Aside from the power sector, economy-wide progress during the last year was not particularly positive, with overall emissions dropping by an average of 1%. To reach net-zero emissions in 2050 will require an average emission reduction of the equivalent of 3% of 2018 emissions across the economy every year. Within the power sector, emissions reduced by 10% in 2018, and now stand nearly 70% lower than 1990 levels. Low carbon energy generation for 2018 provided a record figure of 54% of total UK energy production, with coal generation dropping from 33% in 2008 to 5% in 2018.

Despite clear progress in the power industry, CCC claim overall emission reductions are slowing down compared to annual reductions from years ago, highlighting the reduced potential of further emission reductions from removing coal generation. The latest CCC report states that along with renewable energy, new technology which can provide flexible energy generation will be essential for a future sustainable energy system, and to achieve overall net-zero emissions.

In a recent report named Net Zero - The UK’s Contribution to Stopping Global Warming, the CCC explained that energy generated from renewables and low carbon power would need to increase from 50% to nearly 95% by 2050. The demand for electricity would inadvertently rise due to further demands from electric vehicles and heat pumps.

How can the UK get on track?

According to the Committee on Climate Change, plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are currently falling far behind intended targets. Based on their latest annual report, the gap between what is actually been done and what is really needed to be done to achieve these targets is continuing to widen. The authority recommended a series of 25 decisive policy actions that the UK should adopt to reduce emissions. Within the last year, only one of these policies has actually been delivered. Each policy covers a range of markets including energy, industry, transport, building, agriculture, forestry, land use, and waste.

The power industry is really the only sector that has experienced progress, making considerable reductions for the fifth year running. In the last few months, a number of coal-free records were achieved, supported by favorable policies for renewable energy development.

Industry

The Government developed an ambitious strategy to decarbonize industry, with a key target of delivering net-zero carbon industrial cluster by 2040, relying heavily on carbon capture and storage technology. In the last month, the government allocated ￡26 million of funding for several new CCS projects. It is believed that CCS technology will begin by the mid-2020s and expand further by 2030.

Transport

The transport sector continues to generate the largest emissions of any UK market, accounting for over 20% of total emissions. Despite growing demands, vehicle efficiency has improved and biofuels are increasing. These changes should cause a decline in emissions, but at present emissions have only dropped by 2% in the last year. According to the CCC, not enough progress has been made in terms of enhancing incentives to purchase cleaner vehicles and the phasing out of conventional vehicles by 2040 is, in their eyes, a little too late.

Buildings

Policy gaps identified in the last year continue to remain unaddressed and the government is yet to deliver a clear plan on phasing out fossil fuel heating. The implementation of energy-efficient measures is currently being introduced at a 20% slower rate than recommended by the CCC.

Agriculture and Forestry

The CCC has recommended significant policy changes in the agriculture and forestry industries. Tree planting rates continue to be below the annual targets of 5,000 hectares. For example in the last year, only 1,430 hectares of woodland were planted, equating to a shortfall of 7 million trees. The CCC has suggested that 30,000 hectares should be reforested within the UK and recommends that farmers should be paid to generate emission reductions and other benefits including enhancing soil conditions.

Waste

The latest Resource and Waste Strategy is aiming to end all biodegradable waste going to landfill by 2035, but the CCC believe this should occur by 2025. The Committee also believes the UK should be achieving a recycling rate of 70% by 2025.

What has been highlighted by the latest CCC report is that whilst the UK has identified a series of interesting and positive objectives, the government has failed to support its ambitious policies and deliver the reductions in emissions the UK really needs to achieve. Working towards net-zero will require significant action from all members of the government and economy. Evidence shows, however, development within electric vehicles, carbon capture, and renewable energy suggest that at present, the government is lacking the ambition and political drive to deliver the supportive policies required to make substantial changes.