CCC report urges Government action on climate change

The Commission on Climate Change have issued a report to the UK Government, detailing the achievements of sustainable policy while highlighting areas of industry that are falling behind.

According to the report, a 40% drop in emissions has been recorded since 1990 – complemented by a boom in economic growth. 75% of emissions reductions has been attributed to the efforts of the power sector, with the report recognising the failure of other industries such as transport and housing.

In their response to the report, the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association states: “the CCC’s excellent report singles out two notable successes, the decarbonisation of electricity generation and emissions reductions from the waste sector, both of which the UK’s anaerobic digestion (AD) industry has contributed to. More importantly, AD can also make a significant contribution to decarbonising the sectors that the CCC identify as lagging a long way behind in terms of emissions reduction: heat, transport, and agriculture.”

One of the report’s most alarming accusations is that if the Government doesn’t efficiently invest in sustainability then it will fall short of its 2025 and 2030 targets which are legally binding.

The statement continues: “as the report suggests, the government is currently on track to miss its Fourth and Fifth Carbon Budgets, and so it needs to take urgent action to close the policy gap and support industries such as AD that can help to reduce emissions across the economy, particularly in those sectors that have to date proven difficult to decarbonise. The CCC is right to suggest that government can do this by supporting the simple, low-cost options such as recycling inedible food waste, which could avoid 3.4 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year, equivalent to removing 1.65 million cars from the road."

Solar Trade Association CEO, Chris Hewett adds: “for three years now the Committee on Climate Change has been urging the Government to get behind the most popular and cheapest renewables. With investment in renewables dropping alarmingly & the UK off track on its carbon budgets, the Government must now surely listen & act. There is no justification for holding back solar in the UK.”