UK Falls Behind in Climate Action: Committee on Climate Change Calls for More Efforts

The CCC described government efforts to scale up climate action as "worryingly slow" and noted that it was "markedly" less confident than a year ago that the UK would reach its targets for cutting carbon emissions.

Committee chairman Lord Deben criticized the government's policy on new coal and oil projects, particularly the decision to approve the UK's first new deep coal mine in 30 years.

The CCC highlighted a "lack of urgency" across government and a "worrying hesitancy" by ministers to lead on the climate issue.

The Minister of State for Energy Security and Net Zero stressed that the UK would remain dependent on oil and gas for power generation for the foreseeable future, despite efforts to transition to renewables.

The CCC recommended planting more trees and encouraging home insulation, heat pump installation, and reduced meat consumption and air travel to combat climate change.

The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has released a report criticizing the UK government's lack of progress towards achieving net-zero emissions.

While the government has taken steps to encourage the use of electric cars and support the renewable power sector, the CCC warns that the government is still relying on unproven technological solutions rather than encouraging people to reduce high-carbon activities.

The report recommends that the government do more to encourage people to fly less and discourage airport expansion.

The CCC also notes that UK greenhouse gas emissions have fallen 46% from 1990 levels, largely due to the reduction in use of coal for electricity and the growth of the renewable power sector.

The report's chair, Lord Deben, expressed disappointment that the government has not done more to put net-zero at the heart of its planning system.