Spending Review – where’s the investment in climate action?
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CAT CEO Peter Tyldesley responds to today’s Spending Review from Chancellor Rishi Sunak.
As the UK prepares to host the UN climate talks next year, we need real leadership on climate action. This was not on show in today’s Spending Review.
Investment in our economy must have a green recovery at its core, or the disruption from the COVID crisis will pale in comparison to the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss.
Policies that support an ambitious drive for urgent, effective climate action include investment in: home insulation; low carbon heating; renewable energy; electrification of transport; public transport; infrastructure for walking and cycling; greening of industry; changes to agricultural policy; protecting and restoring woodlands and peat bogs.
We also need further investment in retraining programmes to equip people with skills and knowledge to support the transition.
We must stop subsidising fossil fuels and new roads.
If done well, investment in a green recovery can reap rewards that go beyond action on climate, offering a range of other benefits including creating new jobs across the UK, improving health and wellbeing, and creating more space for wild nature to thrive.
Evidence across sectors shows that the low carbon economy is gathering pace. CAT’s Zero Carbon Britain scenario demonstrates how we can reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions using only proven technology: by powering down energy use through changes to buildings, transport and industry; by powering up clean energy supplies; and by transforming diets and the way we use land.
We need ambitious policies backed by meaningful long-term investment – and we need to start today.
As we look beyond the 10-point plan and the Spending Review to December’s review of the UK’s 2030 climate targets, and from there to a plan for an overarching Net Zero Strategy ahead of the COP26 climate summit in 2021, it is vital that the UK show real global leadership and begin to truly address the scale of the climate challenge.
Zero Carbon Britain
To tackle climate change, all emissions that can go to zero must go to zero – as rapidly as possible. CAT’s Zero Carbon Britain research shows how this can be done using technology available today
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