Government commitment to 87 per cent cut in UK climate emissions by 2040 welcomed in Sheffield
Sheffield environmental campaigners said the move was a ‘step in the right direction’
The Government has signed up to a legal target to cut the UK’s planet-heating emissions by 87 per cent by 2040.
The commitment will see heat pumps, electric cars and renewables rolled out across the country in a move energy secretary Ed Miliband said will bring down bills and “upgrade lifestyles.”
The reduction in greenhouse gases on 1990 levels – on the way to cutting climate pollution to zero overall by 2050, known as “net zero” – is in line with official advice from the independent Climate Change Committee.
The Government’s commitment to the “seventh carbon budget” emissions target for the period 2038-2042 comes amid increasing political division over climate action, with Reform UK and the Tories promising to ditch net zero policies and back oil and gas drilling.
Mr Miliband said the drive for clean homegrown power was the “only way” to protect family and business finances as he accused opponents of sticking their heads in the sand about climate breakdown and its impact on future generations.”
Shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho accused the Government of trying to “force through a new net zero target that will make us weaker, poorer and send everyone’s energy bills even higher”, saying it showed they were not putting the national interest first.
“The best thing for our economy, for growth and for cutting emissions, is to make electricity cheap,” she said.
Climate minister Katie White said she was “slightly baffled” as to why the Conservatives, who had championed the Climate Change Act through previous carbon budgets and implemented the net zero target, “at this stage would want to row back in the middle of a fossil fuel crisis.”
The new target was backed by environmental campaigners, industry and professional bodies who said it would support investment in clean tech, boost energy security, create jobs and deliver healthy ecosystems.
Sheffield-based environmental campaigner Graham Wroe, from TelltheTruthSheffield.org, said Ed Miliband would get lots of abuse from climate change deniers for “taking a step in the right direction.”
He added: “Tipping points are now a real and imminent possibility that could suddenly and dramatically change our climate.
“They threaten our food supplies and could lead to the breakdown of our society. To avoid this, we need to lead the way in emergency action in this country and convince other countries to follow suit.”
Chris Broome, campaigner with SY Climate Alliance, said he wanted to see new policies aimed at meeting the target.
He added: “t is a sad reflection of the state we have got into that taking radical action now is more politically risky than setting targets for when future Governments are in power.”
The net zero target to cut greenhouse gas emissions to zero overall by 2050 compared to 1990 levels, with any residual pollution offset by carbon-capturing measures such as planting trees, is set under the landmark Climate Change Act, passed in 2008.