NEF responds to Climate Change Committee’s seventh carbon budget

Responding to the publication of the Climate Change Committee’s (CCC) 7th carbon budget today, Chaitanya Kumar, head of economic and environmental policy at the New Economics Foundation (NEF), said:

“The CCC is clear – net zero is both essential for the environment and an opportunity to cut bills and raise living standards.

“This report directly challenges those trying to politicise climate action and hold Britain back. It sets out how cutting our reliance on fossil fuels can offer huge benefits to households across the country, cutting bills by up to £700.

“It also exposes a hard truth. Half of the UK’s recessions since 1970 have been linked to fossil fuel price spikes. The faster we move to homegrown renewables, the more we protect ourselves from spiralling costs and build a resilient economy.

“The transition will create thousands of jobs, but the government needs a real industrial strategy to make the most of the benefits the CCC highlights. This should include ramping up investment in green technologies like heat pumps and batteries, where Britain has a competitive edge. And instead of clinging to costly, uncertain fixes like carbon capture, ministers should back industrial electrification and scale up the shift to clean energy.”

Alex Chapman, senior economist at NEF, said:

“The CCC’s analysis on aviation passenger growth clearly shows that the UK already has sufficient airport capacity to meet future demand without expanding Gatwick or Heathrow. Growing capacity beyond the CCC’s assumption, as this government is planning, is irresponsible and risks breaching our carbon budgets.

“At the same time, we are currently taxing the aviation sector next-to-nothing for its climate-wrecking emissions. The CCC calls on the government to close this tax gap and its own citizens’ panel recommended doing so through a frequent flyer levy.

“Fair policies which tax those most responsible for climate breakdown are urgently needed and widely supported. Net zero can be achieved without curtailing the opportunities of the many, but only if government acts now.”

ENDS

Contact

James Rush – james.rush@neweconomics.org

Notes

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