'Catastrophic negligence'

A damning report by the Climate Change Committee – the government’s own advisory body – has been published today. According to the report, the UK has ‘lost its clear global leadership position on climate action’, and there remains a ‘lack of urgency’ on tackling the climate crisis within government.

The publication is the Climate Change Committee’s latest progress report on the government’s plans to reach net zero.

In a stark indication of government failure on climate, the report highlighted that greenhouse gas emissions actually increased in 2022 – up 0.8% on the previous year. Staggeringly, emissions from aviation almost doubled in 2022. The report also showed that emissions from agriculture and land use are almost unchanged in the last decade.

Beneath the top line figures, the report also draws out major criticisms of individual government policies. Government plans to expand fossil fuel production – such as through licensing new oil fields and open new coal mines – send a ‘concerning signal’ and are ‘not in line with net zero’, the report claims. Similarly, the report says that despite renewable energy capacity increasing in 2022, this is not at the rate required to meet the government’s own targets. On energy inefficiency in the home, the report identifies that the number of homes being insulated under a government scheme halved in 2022.

Since the publication of the report, the government has come under heavy criticism for its failure on policy and delivery.

Labour’s shadow climate change secretary Ed Miliband said: “This report exposes the catastrophic negligence shown by this Conservative government which has left Britain with higher bills, fewer good jobs, our energy security weakened, and the climate emergency unaddressed.”

Green Party MP Caroline Lucas said: “This report could hardly be more damning. Confidence is ‘markedly less’ than 12 months ago, scale-up of action is ‘worryingly slow’, and key departments ‘did not deliver’. We’re going backwards more than we are forwards. This Government’s dangerous dither and delay has driven a coach and horses through the UK’s previous reputation as a global climate leader. 

“In the past year, Ministers have signed off over 100 new oil & gas licences, approved a new climate-wrecking coal mine in Cumbria, and even flirted with a return to fracking. Sending ‘confusing signals’ to the global community on climate leadership is a polite way for the [Climate Change Committee] to describe this Government’s blatant hypocrisy on the world stage. 

“And, crucially, this report leaves dead in the water the Government’s outrageous claims that new climate-wrecking oil & gas is necessary before we reach net zero. Locking ourselves into new fossil fuel expansion is unjustifiable when the benefits of a zero-carbon economy are there for the taking. So with the biggest undeveloped oil field in the North Sea reportedly about to get the green light, this Government must heed these stark warnings for all our sakes – and stop Rosebank now.”

It isn’t just opposition politicians who have hit out at the government’s failure. Think tanks and campaign groups have also been highly critical.

The Institute for Public Policy Research think tank’s fair transition unit head Luke Murphy said: “This damning report makes clear that the UK is failing to make sufficient progress towards its legally binding climate targets at home and has abandoned its position of climate leadership abroad.

“Despite limited progress in some areas, across a whole range of sectors from transport to energy, homes to industry, and agriculture and land, there remains a lack of coherent policy and tangible delivery. The government’s plans operate on the basis of a ‘wing and a prayer’, placing faith in technological solutions that have not been delivered at scale.

“The impacts of these failures go well beyond the environmental. Our energy bills are higher, we’re less energy secure, and we’re failing to reap the economic benefits of the transition to net zero. In the global green race, the UK is still stuck in the changing room complaining to the referee about the boots the other runners are wearing.

“By failing to act now, the government is multiplying the problem future leaders will face and leaving an even more damaged environment and economy for younger and future generations.”

Oxfam GB’s climate policy advisor Lyndsay Walsh said: “This should be an urgent wake-up call for the UK government. Every extra ton of CO2 produced now means more loss and damage for the 3.3 billion people living in places highly vulnerable to climate change.

“It’s no surprise the UK is on course to miss its own net zero targets. The government cannot continue to approve new oil and gas licenses and open new coal mines if it is to live up to its climate commitments.

“Crucially, it is not too late to act. The government must commit to ending new fossil fuel projects, including the climate-wrecking Rosebank oil field, which MPs are debating the environmental impact of today, and invest in a fast and just transition to clean energy both at home and overseas.”

Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward

Image credit: Simon Walker / Number 10 Downing Street – Creative Commons

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