Boris Johnson on Wednesday unveiled a sweeping package of measures designed to zero out Britain’s greenhouse gas pollution by mid-century. The announcement shows just how long that road will be. The prime minister’s 10-point plan covers everything from diesel cars to hydrogen and offshore wind power. It’s one of the biggest package of climate measures set out by a British prime minister—and even won measured praise from Greenpeace as the U.K. seeks to position itself as a global leader on climate change before it co-hosts global talks next year.
But experts said the government will have to more than double the 12 billion pounds ($16 billion) it proposed, and come up with a more detailed road map, if it wants to achieve carbon-neutrality by 2050. Analysis by the independent U.K. Climate Change Committee, which monitors the nation’s progress toward its long-term climate goals, showed Britain isn’t even on track to reach its previous goal of cutting emissions by 80% in the next 30 years.
Mind the Gap
The U.K. is off track to meet its net zero emissions target
Sources: BEIS, BloombergNEF
Note: Emissions in carbon dioxide equivalent tons
“On the basis of details released so far, these measures will not be enough to reach net-zero emissions by 2050,” said Victoria Cuming, an analyst for Bloomberg NEF.
In the coming weeks, the CCC will set out its advice on the volume of greenhouse gases the U.K. can emit from 2033 to 2037 if it wants to get on the pathway to net zero. The government’s response to that advice will be key, said John Gummer, the committee’s chairman. “This is a very big step indeed. But it’s not yet enough,” he said of today’s announcement.
The U.K.’s plans will also be helped by growing global momentum to tackle climate change. President-elect Joe Biden has promised to set a target for the U.S. to be net zero by 2050 which, combined with recent pledges from China and Japan, will mean eight of the 10 biggest economies have carbon-neutral commitments.
Others have been more contentious, including a decision to ban the sale of new diesel and gasoline cars from 2030. The government reached a compromise with the auto industry by delaying the ban on hybrids until 2035. It doesn’t detail how it would ramp up electric car usage over the next decade. Just 8.5% of cars sold in the three months to September in the U.K. were electric.
“While the government has taken a big step for our climate by ruling out new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2030, behind the headline is a gaping hole in the funding needed to put us on track to net zero,” Greenpeace U.K.’s head of politics, Rebecca Newsom, said in a statement.