THE UK is failing to tackle climate change on almost all key measures of success, according to the Committee on Climate Change.
This organisation advises the UK government on how to meet its legally binding target of cutting carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2050. As schoolchildren took to the streets to protest the UK鈥檚 lack of climate action on 15 February, the committee set out a dire picture of the country鈥檚 climate policies in a letter to Claire Perry, UK minister for energy and clean growth.
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Although the UK did reduce its official emissions by 14 per cent more聽than the target for the period from 2013 to 2017, it can鈥檛 claim credit, says the letter. 鈥淭he surplus is聽not due to policy but very largely due to accounting changes in the EU聽Emissions Trading System and the聽lasting effects of the recession.鈥� The surplus should therefore not be subtracted from future targets, the committee says.
The letter also warned that, during聽this time period, the UK has failed to meet 15 out of 18 key indicators for cutting emissions from聽buildings, transport, agriculture, land use and waste.
For buildings, the country hasn鈥檛 met its targets for insulating lofts, cavity walls and solid walls, and for installing heat pumps. It did meet the very modest goal of getting 4 per cent of heat from 鈥渓ow carbon鈥� sources, but only by relying heavily on bioenergy such as wood burning. This is not only highly polluting, some critics say it might actually increase carbon dioxide emissions rather than reduce them.
鈥淭he letter paints a stark picture of聽the lack of progress that鈥檚 been made in energy efficiency and heat over the last eight years,鈥� says heat policy expert Richard Lowes at the University of Exeter, UK. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 quite depressing.鈥�
The UK did manage to meet two targets for cutting emissions from waste. But it met none of its transport targets, with just 48,000 electric cars registered per year聽鈥� 19 per cent of the 250,000 target. Biofuels accounted for 3 per cent of fuel by聽volume rather than the 8 per cent target. However, this may be a good thing, given that biofuels are being made out of vegetable oils such as palm oil.
The UK also met none of its targets聽for reducing emissions from agriculture. And less than 7000 hectares per year were planted with trees, well under the target of 25,000.
Lastly, emissions of fluorinated gases, which are highly potent greenhouse gases, rose instead of聽declining.
鈥淭he politicians are not doing nearly enough, just token gestures,鈥� 16-year-old Raffi Gannon told New 杏吧原创 at a protest in London last week. 鈥淚t鈥檚 my future, I feel like I should be protesting for it.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 afraid for my future. It is not sustainable to keep on living the way聽we are. We鈥檙e not going to have anywhere to live,鈥� said 17-year-old Poppy Flack.
