CCC’s 7th Carbon Budget
Winter. A chilling reminder of the fact that far too many people are still living in Dickensian conditions of cold, damp homes and impacted on a daily basis by what’s happening with our energy supply - especially given that this season was far colder than expected, energy bills have skyrocketed and UK housing stock is the oldest in Europe.
This winter, for so many people, was met without Winter Fuel Payment support, without emergency provision for people on low incomes to upgrade damp homes and without an energy social tariff to provide relief for the most vulnerable people.
Across the country we have hundreds of thousands more children living in poverty just in the past few years, with many families having to make the horrendous choice between eating and heating. The burden on the NHS from cold, damp homes is over £1 billion due to the devastating impacts on young children and older people’s physical and mental health.
Our housing stock puts lives at risk, threatens our energy security and stifles economic growth. More than 1.3 million households are on social housing waiting lists and 160,000 children are living in temporary accommodation.
Spring is approaching not with ‘a spirit of youth in everything’, but with Ofgem’s announcement that bills will increase for the third consecutive quarter from April, with President Trump pioneering a new policy of appeasement with the Kremlin and with Putin’s war of aggression set to be rewarded. Now more than ever Europe must look after its own energy security. Europe does not have abundant reserves of fossil fuels; that security must be built on renewable energy and the restoration of nature - Britain must be at the heart of this.
What can we be hopeful for this Spring?
As unlikely as it seems, the Climate Change Committee’s 7th carbon budget does offer hope. It shows that there is a clear pathway to the UK achieving energy security which will protect families and businesses from the volatility of fossil fuel prices under the control of authoritarian regimes. The 7th carbon budget looks to the time period beyond 2030, telling us what envelope we have for carbon emissions in sectors that are difficult to reduce and where we can make significant and pragmatic changes through technological advances. It’s the time to green our industries, make our homes warm and safe, reduce air pollution and get cheaper, greener transport such as EVs. The budget limits the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions over the five-year period between 2038 and 2042 and sets an interim target to reduce emissions by 87% (compared to 1990 levels) by 2040. This is an ambitious target but, as the CCC states, “it is deliverable, provided action is taken rapidly.”
Business needs certainty for investment and this provides that horizon of certainty, showing that we can become global leaders in renewables and green industry. The report does point to actions we can all take as individuals, families and businesses. However, it also makes clear that there is a need for government to invest upfront in making homes warm and safe for those most vulnerable - as well as ensuring that new homes are built to the highest standards. So they should not delay any further the publication of the Future Homes Standards for house-building.
The Chancellor’s announcements regarding airport expansion are controversial, to say the least. We grilled the Secretary of State, Ed Milliband, on this during his appearance at the Environmental Audit Committee. He reaffirmed the need for any decisions on Gatwick and other airport expansion to be within the carbon budget. This would be difficult and could significantly undermine the UK’s efforts to reach net zero. Aviation is currently the sixth highest-emitting sector in the UK economy. The Climate Change Committee report does cater for some growth, showing that, as other sectors decarbonise, aviation’s share of UK emissions is set to increase to 27% by 2040, making it the UK’s highest-emitting sector. In order for the carbon budget to work, many assumptions are being made about technology coming to the rescue, both Sustainable Aviation Fuel and electric and hybrid planes.
This 7th carbon budget also finally puts nature front and centre of what is needed to tackle climate change. It calls for urgent action on nature, tree planting and regenerative farming practices to ensure food security, nature restoration and reduction in carbon emissions.
In the context of all of the above, hopefully Britain will listen to these targets, and see them not just as international ‘red tape’ but as an impetus to begin a dramatic expansion of our domestic energy capacity - for all our sakes.
Europe’s security requires it, Britain’s nature and environment demands it.