The Prime Minister's Ten Point Plan to deliver Net Zero will mobilise £12 billion of Government investment while laying the blueprint for a green industrial revolution.
The cost of inaction is too high. The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published in March 2023 makes for very sobering reading, as it lays clear the stark consequences climate change is having on our planet. The report warns that climate change is already affecting every single region across the globe and without urgent action warming, heatwaves, heavy precipitation, droughts, and loss of Arctic Sea ice, snow cover and permafrost, will all increase. In addition, the report highlights that immediate action is required to reduce emissions to net zero by 2050 to give a good chance of limiting global warming to 1.5C in the long-term.
I am proud however that the UK has made progress to cut emissions faster than any other G7 country, with the UK having already slashed emissions by 48 per cent, compared to 41 per cent in Germany, 23 per cent in France, as well as surpassing the targets most countries have set for 2030. It is this over-delivery on reducing emissions that provides the space to take a more pragmatic, proportionate, and realistic approach to reaching net zero.
I am pleased that these recently revised plans will ease the burden on working people, as the Government has made it clear that the plans to meet net zero will only succeed if public support is maintained. This includes: easing the transition to electric vehicles from 2030 to 2035, in line with other similar countries; giving families far more time to transition to heat pumps while significantly increasing grants to upgrade boilers; scrapping onerous energy efficiency requirements and not forcing people to make alterations; a commitment to no rules on carpooling, seven different bins and more expensive meat; and greater support for new oil and gas in the North Sea.
More broadly, tackling climate change requires decisive global action, with significant investment and innovation by the public and private sectors, creating whole new industries, technologies and professions. The Government’s new Science and Technology Framework will see £250 million investment in three transformational technologies to tackle global challenges such as climate change. I believe the Ten Point Plan, together with the Energy White Paper and the Energy Security Strategy, lays the strong foundations to transition to a cleaner and greener economy.
The Government's Net Zero Strategy builds on the Ten Point Plan and sets out a clear path for the changes needed to secure our energy, creating jobs and new industries while ending the UK's contribution to climate change. The UK can rapidly cut carbon emissions, while creating new jobs, technologies and future-proof industries that will generate economic growth for decades to come.
The full text of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's speech can be found below.
