Forty-First Report - Achieving Net Zero: Follow up
Select Committee
Public Accounts Committee
HC 642
2 March 2022
Recommendations
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Conclusions (14) Observations and findings — click to expand
9
Conclusion
Acknowledged
In March 2021 we reported that as much as 62% of future emissions reductions would rely on individual choices and behaviour but that government had not yet properly engaged with the public on substantial behavioural changes that achieving net zero would require.28 In our current inquiry, the Department told us …
Government Response Summary
The government will support the public in making green choices, understanding behavioural factors, and following a Monitoring & Evaluation Framework; Government Chief Scientific Adviser will produce a scenario-based foresight report.
10
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Achieving net zero will clearly be challenging. The Department stressed that although many of the technologies the strategy relies on are currently very expensive, it is confident that the cost of these will reduce over time.33 For example, a heat pump is currently more expensive than a gas boiler; however, …
Government Response Summary
The department estimates that additional capital investment must grow to an average of £50-60 billion per year through the late 2020s and 2030s, and that most of this investment will come from the private sector.
11
Conclusion
Acknowledged
We questioned whether the Department was also monitoring and collecting data on the impacts of net zero policies on individuals and groups with different characteristics.38 The Department pointed to HM Treasury analysis of household exposure to net zero ‘abatement’ costs by income deciles, but also described why it does not …
Government Response Summary
The department's annual progress report will include an update on progress against the targets and ambitions set out in the Net Zero Strategy, commentary on contextual changes that might affect the pathway to meeting decarbonisation commitments, and a summary of key areas of progress made against this pathway and the policies and proposals in the Strategy.
13
Conclusion
Acknowledged
The Department reiterated that local government is key to achieving net zero particularly in delivering emission reductions in buildings, transport and waste management.45 Government analysis suggests that more than 30% of emissions reductions to deliver the Sixth Carbon Budget rely to some extent on local authority involvement, and in evidence …
Government Response Summary
The government agreed to create a Local Net Zero Forum by Summer 2022 to discuss local net zero issues with local government, and explore simplifying and consolidating funds for local net zero initiatives.
15
Conclusion
Acknowledged
We questioned how local authorities access funding to help achieve net zero. The Local Government Association highlighted to us the core issues of uncertainty, spending power and fragmentation in relation to challenges facing council finances.55 The Department considers that the current system run at a national level can ensure that …
Government Response Summary
The government agreed to create a Local Net Zero Forum by Summer 2022 to discuss local net zero issues with local government, and explore simplifying and consolidating funds for local net zero initiatives.
17
Conclusion
Acknowledged
The Department recognises the need to upskill the private sector to have the capacity and capability to provide goods and services that will contribute to the government’s net zero goals.63 We have recently reported that while the failure of the Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme was largely down to design …
Government Response Summary
The government's response outlines existing plans to work with industry to create a skilled workforce, including green apprenticeships, retraining bootcamps, the Green Jobs Delivery Group, a climate and sustainability strategy for education, heat pump installer training, and spending on training for tradespeople delivering green home energy improvements. It also mentions work to improve Civil Service skills.
19
Conclusion
Acknowledged
We questioned whether there remained a net zero skills imbalance across government.74 The Department told us that it has a high concentration of relevant skills, and there are secondary but still substantial concentrations in the Department for Transport and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. The Department told …
Government Response Summary
The government's response outlines existing plans to work with industry to create a skilled workforce, including green apprenticeships, retraining bootcamps, the Green Jobs Delivery Group, a climate and sustainability strategy for education, heat pump installer training, and spending on training for tradespeople delivering green home energy improvements. It also mentions work to improve Civil Service skills.
20
Conclusion
Acknowledged
In 2020 government established the Government Skills and Curriculum Unit. The Strategy indicates that this Unit is working with the Department to review the skills, training and networks that civil servants need to achieve net zero.76 In addition, the Department told us that government is also building its talent pipeline …
Government Response Summary
The government plans to work with industry to create the skilled workforce needed to deliver climate targets, including green apprenticeships, retraining bootcamps, setting up the Green Jobs Delivery Group with industry, and publishing a climate and sustainability strategy for education and children’s’ services, while also providing new training offers for all civil servants.
21
Conclusion
Acknowledged
The Department recognises that climate change is a global challenge requiring a global solution. The Strategy identifies international collaboration as a key aim for the UK’s presidencies of COP26 and the G7. The Strategy further commits to lead by example internationally on climate policies, in part by building on a …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. The government plans to help empower people to make informed choices about the goods and products they buy and services they use by exploring how the government better labels these with their emission intensity and environmental impact.
22
Conclusion
Acknowledged
We previously reported in 2021 that it was critical that actions to reduce the UK’s emissions did not result in moving emissions abroad, so-called ‘carbon leakage’, which would undermine global efforts to tackle climate change. At that time, government did not have a clear way of determining whether its actions …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's recommendation and will explore labelling goods with their emission intensity, working with the FCA on sustainable investment labels, using product labelling for durability, and updating Ecodesign product regulation.
23
Conclusion
Acknowledged
In its new Strategy, government recognises the importance of addressing the risk of carbon leakage so that its net zero interventions do not lead to increased emissions elsewhere, and to ensure that UK industry has confidence to decarbonise.82 The Department sought to assure us that it has not found serious …
Government Response Summary
The government plans to help empower people to make informed choices about the goods and products they buy by exploring how the government better labels these with their emission intensity and environmental impact, including work with the FCA, product labeling, and exploring environmental labeling within food production and disposal.
24
Conclusion
Acknowledged
The Department told us consumption emissions are more difficult to measure than territorial emissions, the latter being the standard approach of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).85 The Department told us that it intends to use product standards and carbon adjustment mechanisms at the border as long- …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's recommendation and will explore labelling goods with their emission intensity, working with the FCA on sustainable investment labels, using product labelling for durability, and updating Ecodesign product regulation.
26
Conclusion
Acknowledged
We questioned the Department as to whether it felt measures relating to the energy efficiency of buildings cast as best endeavours, such as ‘as many as possible’ and ‘as many… as reasonably practicable’ were transparent, clear and effective.92 The Department told us that a one-size-fits-all measure cannot be applied to …
Government Response Summary
The department's annual progress report will include an update on progress against the targets and ambitions set out in the Net Zero Strategy, commentary on contextual changes that might affect the pathway to meeting decarbonisation commitments, and a summary of key areas of progress made against this pathway and the policies and proposals in the Strategy.
28
Conclusion
Acknowledged
The Department pointed to the cost-benefit analysis it prepared as part of government’s consideration for legally adopting the Sixth Carbon Budget, and also its financial resources (expressed as capital and operating expenditure limits) set against different targets including net zero and contained within its Outcome Delivery Plan.101 The Department told …
Government Response Summary
The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation, and restates its plans to write to the Committee by Autumn 2022 setting out the processes for reporting the implementation of the government’s net zero policies, including to Parliament and reiterates the clear performance metrics they have already committed to report against publicly, and a summary of the internal reporting governance in place to ensure net zero by 2050 remains on track.