The Government’s climate change adviser says reaching net zero carbon emissions in the UK is likely to be much cheaper than previously thought - but the Government is not yet doing enough to meet our legally binding target of net zero emissions by 2050.

Chris Stark, the chief executive of the Committee on Climate Change, the UK’s independent statutory adviser, says it is essential for the Government to have a coherent strategy before the UK hosting of the next UN climate summit, Cop26,  in November 2021. He also criticised the current policy of `lumping costs onto the electricity bill’, which hits the poorest the hardest, and said there was `a lovely opportunity’ for the Treasury to ensure a `fair and cheap transition’. (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/12/reaching-uk-net-zero-target-cheaper-than-we-thought-says-climate-adviser)

Meanwhile, 38 Degrees are also calling on the Government to step up action on climate change. They have launched a petition asking Johnson to back Caroline Lucas’s Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill. (https://www.carolinelucas.com/latest/why-we-need-a-new-climate-bill)

Drafted by scientists, lawyers and activists, her private member’s bill has cross-party support from seven political parties. It calls, among other things, for an emergency Citizens’ Assembly to help Parliament decide on the measures to include in the strategy. 

Earlier this year the International Energy Agency said that governments’ post-Covid recovery packages would have crucial implications for our ability to ward off catastrophic climate change; not only that, but it would actually be more cost-effective to concentrate on green jobs rather than the high-carbon economy. (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/18/world-has-six-months-to-avert-climate-crisis-says-energy-expert)

The CBI echoed this message in September when it called for Britain to become a global leader in the fight against climate change, using `game-changing’ green technologies to create jobs and boost economic recovery. (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/sep/14/uk-must-become-global-leader-in-tackling-climate-crisis-says-cbi-carolyn-fairbairn-covid-19) 

Please add your voice to persuade our Government that we need a plan of action to meet our legal targets - and save our planet.