Theresa May’s successor must follow through on her net zero commitment

In one of the final acts of her premiership, Theresa May has thrown down the gauntlet in the battle against climate change by confirming a new emissions target for the UK of net zero greenhouse gases by 2050. While the objective will make the UK a leader in tackling climate change among the economies and has certainly laid down a marker for others to follow, the government must now ensure that it makes good on its word by following up with concrete actions.

In adopting the 2050 net zero target, the government has followed the recommendations of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), the independent committee of experts advising on building a low-carbon economy and tackling climate change. The CCC published its Net Zero report in May on how to end the UK’s contribution to climate change and its conclusion was unequivocal, recommending a new emissions target for the UK of net zero greenhouse gases in the next 30 years and an acceleration of government actions to achieve it.

The CCC ascertained that net zero was necessary, feasible and cost-­effective. Given the climate imperative, it is easy to understand why net zero was viewed as a necessity. However, the judgement that net zero by 2050 was feasible and cost-effective was even more interesting.

The CCC argues that the maturation of key, non-carbon emitting technologies – such as clean energy technologies or electric vehicles – mean that these technologies have fallen in cost and become reliable enough for them to become the core of our future infrastructure system.

To take an example, in 2008 it was estimated that reducing carbon emissions by 80 per cent of 1990 levels by 2050 would cost 1-2 per cent of GDP growth over four decades. The CCC now asserts that for the same cost the UK can become a net zero emitter of greenhouse gases. This reduction in cost is testament to how far the clean energy market has come in the past ten years. Indeed, during this period the price of clean energy has fallen significantly and in 2018 the UK’s clean energy generation capacity overtook fossil fuel capacity for the first time.

Analysts have noted how the drive towards clean energy in recent years has been greater than the so-called dash for gas of the 1990s. While this has not happened overnight, the decarbonising of the UK energy system has progressed massively. With the clean energy market maturing and its financial reliability becoming established and institutionalised, an increasing number of funds and lenders will invest in clean energy and add to the sector’s development.

The same is happening with electric vehicles (EVs) and charging infrastructure, now seen as the future of the car industry and attracting significant investment from automotive and battery manufacturers, developers and landowners. By putting in place incentives and regulations that provide further market certainty, such as regulations to ensure standardised EV charging across manufacturers, the government can rapidly accelerate the decarbonisation of UK transportation.

There is a clear path to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, but given the scale of the task at hand additional measures are needed to help make this objective a reality. The clean energy sector has demonstrated the way forward, with government policies ensuring private sector buy-in and investments. Once green, decarbonised industries begin to scale and a tipping point is reached, then clean growth will become self-sustaining and government interventions will be less necessary.

The prime minister has chosen a bold and ambitious path for the UK. Her successor will need to take up the mantle.