The latest report from the Climate Change Committee (CCC) has issued a stark warning about the UK’s progress towards its 2030 emission reduction targets, revealing that only a fraction of the necessary cuts are currently planned.
This shortfall poses a significant risk to the nation’s climate ambitions, prompting urgent calls for accelerated efforts across various sectors.
Olivia Powis of the Carbon Capture and Storage Association stressed the importance of carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technologies in meeting these targets.
Ms Powis emphasised, “If we are to meet our 2030 emissions reduction goal of 68% compared to 1990 levels, the Cluster Sequencing Programme must progress swiftly.”
Mike Thornton, Chief Executive Officer of Energy Saving Trust, echoed concerns about the pace of adopting heat pumps, stating, “This report rightly sets out steps to make heat pumps an attractive option for more people through reducing running costs and planning barriers.”
Ben Shafran from Energy Systems Catapult emphasised the need for enabling policies and market mechanisms, urging, “We need to create market mechanisms supporting electrified heat and transportation technologies.”
Trevor Hutchings, Chief Executive Officer of the Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology (REA), underscored the report’s call for increased investment in renewables, noting, “The report highlights that British-based renewable energy is the most affordable and quickest way to reduce reliance on unstable global fossil fuel markets.”
In response to the CCC’s report, Dhara Vyas, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Energy UK, acknowledged progress but urged action, saying, “The simple reality is that decarbonising the remaining half of our emissions is likely to be much more challenging than the first 50%.”
