The government is failing to enact the policies needed to reach the UK’s net zero targets, says former environment secretary John Gummer.
Now ennobled as Lord Deben, the former Conservative front-bencher chairs the Climate Change Committee, which has issued a damning progress report to parliament.
The government’s statutory adviser voiced fears that ministers may renege on the legally binding commitment to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, noting “major policy failures” and “scant evidence of delivery”.
Deben said the government had set strong targets on cutting emissions but policy to achieve them was lacking. “The government has willed the ends, but not the means,” he said. “This report showed that present plans will not fulfil the commitments.”
The greatest failure, he added, was the insulation policy. Britain’s homes are the draughtiest in western Europe and heating is one of the biggest single sources of carbon emissions, but the government has no plans to help most people insulate their homes.
“It’s a political psychological problem – somehow our politicians do not see energy efficiency as something they can go with and claim credit for,” said Deben.
