Policies to reduce emissions have improved since last year, concluded the Climate Change Committee (CCC), releasing its first assessment of the new Government’s progress on climate targets on 25 June. The statutory body also appealed to policymakers to “do more to ensure people see the benefits of climate action in their bills”.
Interim Chair of the Climate Change Committee, Professor Piers Forster, said: “The UK can be proud of our progress in reducing emissions. We’ve cut them by over 50% since 1990. Our country is among a leading group of economies demonstrating a commitment to decarbonise society. This is to be celebrated: delivering deep emissions reduction is the only way to slow global warming.
“However, the Government needs to do more to ensure people see the benefits of climate action in their bills. Given increasingly unstable geopolitics, it is also important to get off unreliable fossil fuels and onto homegrown, renewable energy as quickly as possible.
The CBI’s Net Zero director Jennifer Beckwith agreed: “The Committee is right to prioritise making electricity cheaper, which continues to thwart the UK’s competitiveness and business’ investment in the transition.”
To maintain investors’ confidence in the UK’s decarbonisation market, she believed the vital ingredients were: “Securing a strong renewables pipeline at the next auction round, an outcome on electricity market arrangements and urgently progressing CCUS and hydrogen projects.”
In terms of progress towards net zero, there has been positive delivery on key areas this year, said the CCC, including new car electric vehicle market share (19.6% in 2024), heat pump installations (up 56%), and woodland creation (up 59%). Much of this progress is due to previous policy, set out under the previous Government. But this Government has also made bold policy decisions this year – notably on removing planning barriers on renewable deployment, clarity on the clean power mission, and the reinstatement of the 2030 phase-out date for new petrol and diesel vehicles.
But the group urged accelerated action, stating that “electric vehicle and heat pump rollout remain slightly below what is needed and the tree planting rate from last year may not be sustained without further support.”
Emissions fell 2.5% in 2024, the tenth consecutive year of sustained reduction in emissions, excluding the COVID-19 years 2020 and 2021.
The UK’s emissions have halved (-50.4%) since 1990.
Responding to the announcement, industry commentators offered prescriptions to expedite success. Tamsin Lishman, CEO at Kensa, said: “Progress is being made, especially with the upcoming Future Homes Standard paving the way for heat pumps in new build homes.
“However, to deliver cleaner, cheaper, and fairer heating for everyone, ministers must go further and remove the artificial cost barriers holding back heat pump adoption, providing the long-term clarity industry needs to invest and scale.”
