Undo last government’s climate policy rollbacks to lower people’s bills, top advisers say

Reversing the last government’s decision to cancel or reduce some climate policies would help tackle the cost of living and cut bills, the UK’s climate watchdog has said.

The Climate Change Committee (CCC) said there was “no evidence” for Rishi Sunak’s claims last year that watering down climate measures would save people money, and said “inconsistent messages” may actually have the opposite effect.

Its acting chief executive Dr James Richardson said: “These rollbacks were unhelpful, they will slow progress, they don’t help households with high energy costs nor do they help the UK energy security.

“To do that, we need to accelerate the move away from fossil fuels.”

But “quickly reinstating” old targets for heat pumps, EVs, and home insulation would “limit” the damage and save people money, either now or in the long term, it said.

How is the country doing on climate goals now?

In its annual marking of the UK’s homework on climate action, the committee gave a mostly dim verdict.

It said the country is “not on track” to cut emissions by 68% from 1990 levels by 2030, and just one third of the cuts to polluting gases needed are covered by a “credible plan”.

Hitting the target would lower some bills and boost energy security, it said.

The new government had “got off to a good start” in terms of greening the electricity system, including by lifting the onshore wind ban, the top advisers said.

But they warned Labour also needed to also tackle transport and buildings, plant far more trees and make electricity cheaper, so people reap the benefits of switching to a heat pump or EV.

The annual progress report also found:

• Electricity bills would be cheaper if social and green levies were removed and collected them elsewhere – such as from gas bills or general taxation. This could drive up gas bills, though would incentivise the switch to green tech.
• The market share of new electric cars (EVs) must soar from 16.5% today to almost 100% in 2030 – but they should be cheaper to buy in next few years.
• Reinstating scrapped energy efficiency standards for landlords would lower bills for renters.
• It is “particularly unclear how the [last government’s] 20% exemption to the fossil-fuel boiler ban will help reduce costs”, as the cost of maintaining the network would then sit with so few households.
• By 2030, annual offshore wind installations must treble, onshore wind double, and solar increase fivefold.
• 10% of homes should have a heat pump, compared with 1% today.
• Only five of 22 metrics are currently on track, such as reducing energy demand in buildings and car traffic, possibly due to high bills and the pandemic.
• But we are off track on things like van traffic, EVs, heat pumps and tree-planting.

The report comes after England was drenched with its wettest 18 months since records began in 1836, spoiling crops for struggling farmers and disrupting trains.

That’s why we “have to make our whole society far more resilient” to climate impacts by boosting the “unambitious” adaptation plan, said Professor Piers Forster, the committee’s interim chair.

He also called for an “honest conversation” about both the cost of net zero and the benefits to all society.

Jonny Marshall from the Resolution Foundation thinktank said some measures had the “potential to benefit poorer households’ family budgets” – but only if stably and fairly managed.

Changes to electricity bills risked increasing gas bills, he warned, but said a social tariff could protect struggling households.

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Why advisers are optimistic about climate action

But despite the gloomy messages, the committee members maintained there were reasons to be cheerful.

The UK’s emissions have already fallen by more than half (53% lower) on the levels in 1990, largely due to the end to coal power and a surge in renewables.

It hit three previous important targets – known as “carbon budgets” – to slash greenhouse gases, thanks to previous Labour and Tory governments.

Rapid growth in electric cars is now making a “measurable” dent in polluting emissions, the progress report said.

Prof Forster said it was “absolutely” still possible to reach the 2030 target, if the government acted on the CCC’s advice.

Acting chief executive Dr James Richardson said he was “most cheerful about the rapidly falling prices of some of these key technologies” like batteries and solar.

These effects will “really change not only the net zero agenda, but household bills” too.

Dr Emily Nurse, the CCC’s head of net zero, said she was hopeful about heat pumps because other countries have already shown us “this can be done”.

Energy secretary Ed Miliband said: “The good news is that this report confirms that a clean energy future is the best way to make Britain energy independent, cut bills, create good jobs, and tackle the climate crisis.”

A Conservative Party spokesman said: “As the CCC acknowledges, we have decarbonised more than any other G20 country whilst growing the economy by 80% at the same time.

“The climate lobby and the Labour Party want to push to go ever further and faster, but if that comes at extra costs to struggling families or sends our businesses abroad to higher polluting countries, then it will cause more damage than good to global carbon emissions.”