UK unveils ‘carbon budget delivery plan’ to get back on track for net zero targets | Green politics

The UK government will do all it can on clean energy and climate policy, the Energy Secretary said, as he unveiled plans to put the UK back on track to meet its net zero emissions commitments.

Facing growing attacks on climate policy from Britain’s poll-leading Reform Party and the Conservatives, the government insists that promoting renewable energy and cutting carbon emissions will cut household bills and boost the economy.

Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, told the Guardian: “This Labor Government is fully committed to action to tackle the climate crisis because it is the way to ensure a better life for Britons today and protect future generations tomorrow.

“This plan lays out the ambitious actions we have taken in our first 15 months – unleashing investment, creating jobs, rebuilding our energy security. Meanwhile, our political opponents have embarked on an anti-jobs, anti-science path that would be a disaster for our economy, our security and our planet.

“Future generations will look back and judge us all on whether we took action to protect our planet and our way of life. This Government is proud to be judged on that basis – and at Cop30 next week, we will show that we are ready, in word and deed, to fight for our planet.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed the plan, called the Carbon Budget Achievement Plan, published on Wednesday afternoon, through which the Government reaffirmed its commitment to decarbonise the UK’s electricity supply by 2030 and significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2037.

Tenants will be allowed to demand that their landlords give them access to electric vehicle charging, under an overhaul of current rules, and the industry will benefit from discounts to help it reduce its energy costs.

Heat pumps will be targeted as the low-carbon heating option for the vast majority of the country to move towards, but the government has refused to rule out hydrogen for domestic heating, despite expert evidence that it would be costly and unsustainable.

No firm price will be attached to this project, but the government believes that it will not increase already high energy bills. The manifesto pledge to cut energy bills by £300 still stands.

Although the government is unwilling to confirm it, some observers believe Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, could remove or reduce VAT on energy bills in November’s budget.

Asad Rehman, chief executive of Friends of the Earth, one of the groups which took legal action forcing the government to publish the new plan, said: “The government has indicated that it recognizes that meaningful climate action is not just a legal duty – it is also a huge social and economic opportunity. Done well, it can cut bills, heat homes and create thousands of good green jobs. It would help tackle the deep inequalities felt across the country and build a fairer and more prosperous future.”

The plan covers all major sources of carbon emissions, including energy, transport, agriculture, homes and industry. But campaigners pointed out there were some omissions – for example, there was no commitment to reducing the number of flights people took. The government gives the green light to the expansion of airports, including Gatwick and Heathrow.

Instead, the plan promises that 22% of fuel used in planes will be sustainable aviation fuel, which is in high demand globally and requires huge amounts of land to produce.

Juliet Michaelson, director of climate charity Possible, said: “This plan still lacks realistic thinking about the hardest areas to decarbonise, such as aviation. The reality is that the people who pollute the most will need to be made to pollute less.”

The plan makes little mention of public transport, focusing on the adoption of electric vehicles rather than planning new railways. Climate experts say road use will need to be reduced to reach net zero, and the number of motorists is increasing year on year.

Emissions from agriculture are also stubbornly high and difficult to reduce, but the plan’s agricultural measures focus on “land-use change.” To be consistent with the Committee’s recommendations on climate change, this should mean less land used for animal agriculture, but this is not explicitly addressed.

Recommitting to climate action is a calculated political gamble. The reform made abandoning net zero emissions and climate policy, and promoting an increase in the use of fossil fuels, a centerpiece of its policy package. Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, also pledged to repeal the climate change law and push for more gas.

Some within Labor want Starmer to follow suit by dropping a pledge to decarbonize electricity and allow greater use of fossil fuels. Former Labor leader Tony Blair’s think tank has repeatedly pushed for such a turnaround this year.

But others in government argue that backtracking on climate policy will only alienate key voters, while depriving the UK of opportunities for low-carbon economic growth. The CBI found that the green economy was growing three times faster than the rest of the economy, and many key companies have expressed support for net zero emissions.

Most of the “carbon budget execution plan” unveiled on Wednesday was not a new policy but a reformulation of existing measures. Publishing the plan was a legal requirement imposed on the government by the High Court last year after a legal challenge brought by charities including Friends of the Earth and ClientEarth.

The court ordered the then Conservative government, accused of failing to meet its legal obligation to cut its carbon emissions to net zero by 2050, to publish a clear plan on how to meet the UK’s five-year carbon budgets, set out by the Climate Change Commission.

Kyle Lischak, head of UK at ClientEarth, said: “Security and prosperity will only endure when policy aligns with nature, not against it. We are proud that the legacy of our work on this climate plan is to hold Westminster to its word. This new plan exists because people and organizations stood up for the rule of law and demanded honesty about how the UK intends to meet its climate commitments; the law allows the courts and the public to ensure that promises are backed by credible actions.”