The UK Government has “undermined the careful language” used to negotiate a global climate pact at COP26 in Glasgow over its insistence to expand oil and gas development, according to its advisers.
The Climate Change Committee (CCC), statutory advisers to both the Scottish and UK governments, has warned that Tory ministers appear less likely to meet its net zero targets since it became more transparent on its plans.
In a stark report, the CCC has warned that the UK has “sent confusing signals on its climate priorities to the global community”.
The document adds: “Support for new oil and gas, beyond the immediate increase in gas production demanded by the Ukraine invasion, and the decision to consent a new coal mine in Cumbria have raised global attention and undermined the careful language negotiated by the UK COP26 Presidency in the Glasgow Climate Pact.”
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At COP26, held at the SECC in Glasgow in 2021, UK minister Alok Sharma agreed a climate pact with global leaders to “phase down” the use of fossil fuels.
But the UK Government has been upfront about its plans to expand drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea.
The UK Government has committed to Britain becoming net zero by 2050, while the Scottish Government has pledged to end the country’s contribution to the climate crisis by 2045.
Lord Deben has said he was sad that his last progress report as chair of the CCCC “is not a report that suggests satisfactory progress”.
It is the 15th such report from the CCC, which has been tracking the Government’s decarbonisation efforts since the introduction of the Climate Change Act 2008.
Last year, a High Court judge ruled that the UK Government must provide greater transparency on its net zero plans but now the CCC said that as a result, it has less confidence in the UK reaching milestone targets for 2030.
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UK greenhouse gas emissions have fallen by 46% from 1990 levels, mainly because of the removal of coal from electricity generation.
The UK Government has pledged to reduce emissions by 68% by 2030 but the CCC said the pace of scale-up action is “worryingly slow”.
In Scotland, MSPs have set a binding target to cut 1990 levels of emissions by 75% by 2030, with the CCC raising previous concerns that pledge looks unlikely.
At a UK level, the CCC is concerned about four areas in particular – industry, transport, buildings and fuel supply.
They said the pace of decarbonisation in these sectors over the next seven years has to quadruple what it has been over the previous eight.
Chris Stark, the CCC’s chief executive, said: “There are no secrets for net zero any longer, we know how to do it.
“Right across the board we have well-worked-through strategies for how to cut carbon emissions to zero in most areas and for those sectors that we can’t get to absolute zero, we have enough capacity in the natural world and through more engineered solutions to take carbon out of the atmosphere.
“Those things take time. They need to put policies in place now that would steer us towards that future. That’s what we’re not seeing at the pace that’s required.”
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The UK Government claimed to be a world leader in net zero despite the CCC saying it is throwing that position away by supporting the development of new oil, gas and coal at home while telling other countries to stop.
It also celebrated decarbonising electricity, the one area the CCC said has moved at the correct pace so far, but did not address any of the specific issues raised in the CCC’s report, such as how to realistically decarbonise industry, transport and buildings.
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A UK Government spokesperson said: “The UK is cutting emissions faster than any other G7 country and attracted billions of investment into renewables, which now account for 40% of our electricity.
“In the last year alone, we have confirmed the first state backing of a nuclear project in over 30 years and invested billions to kick-start new industries like carbon capture and floating offshore wind.”
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