The Climate Change Committee (CCC) expresses concerns about the “worryingly slow” pace of the government’s endeavors to escalate climate actions. This marks a significant departure from its considerably higher confidence levels just a year ago in meeting carbon emission reduction targets.
A government watchdog cautions that government support for new oil and coal projects, airport expansions, and slow advancements in heat pump adoption have undermined the UK’s leadership in climate matters.
Lord Deben
The government maintains its dedication to climate targets despite this. However, the Climate Change Committee chairman, Lord Deben, a former Conservative environment minister, criticizes the government’s stance on new coal and oil ventures.
Lord Deben regards the approval of the UK’s inaugural new deep coal mine in three decades in Cumbria, granted in December of the previous year, as “total nonsense.” Moreover, he harshly critiques plans for a substantial new oilfield near Scotland’s coastline. Approval for the Rosebank project, with an estimated production potential of 300 million barrels of oil, is imminent.
Lord Deben raises a poignant question: how can the UK urge African countries to abstain from oil development when it’s embarking on such endeavors itself? He emphasizes that if the UK commences fossil fuel production expansion, it becomes challenging to ask other nations to curtail their own efforts.
The UK has committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, effectively eradicating any additional contributions to atmospheric greenhouse gases. Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed to cut emissions by 68% from 1990 levels by the end of this decade during the COP26 UN climate conference in Glasgow in 2021.
The CCC’s report underscores the mounting difficulty in achieving these targets due to “continual delays in policy formulation and execution.” The Committee accentuates the “lack of urgency” across government ranks and the “troubling hesitancy” displayed by ministers in taking the lead on climate issues.