The public can power Britain to net zero - The Guardian
The public can power Britain to net zero | Climate crisis | The Guardian
You report that the UK government has made almost no progress on its climate plans and is in danger of not delivering on its world-leading net zero plans ( UK missing climate targets on nearly every front, say government’s advisers, 28 June).
We offer a small ray of hope. It’s us. Despite a disappointing increase in negative coverage about net zero, our world-leading targets still enjoy widespread public support. The UK public consistently ranks climate change and the environment in the top four concerns facing the country.
The Climate Change Committee (CCC) has recognised this – it talks about the need to “empower and inform households and communities to make low carbon choices” and calls for the government to publish its long-overdue public engagement strategy. Last week’s CCC report mentions engagement or public engagement 75 times, compared with just once in the CCC’s 2018 progress report.
Delivering on our net zero ambitions will mean changes in all of our lives and our communities, and it is vital that people feel involved in these changes – or we will not succeed. It is clear from this latest CCC report that we need to hold politicians’ feet to the fire on delivering these ambitious goals.
Rachael Orr
CEO, Climate Outreach
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”