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Climate reporter, BBC News
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More people are buying electric cars and installing heat pumps than ever before, but those numbers need to increase even further, according to the government’s climate advisers.
The independent Climate Change Committee said that the government needed to make sure that households benefit from the switch to cleaner technologies through lower bills.
“The government has made progress on a number of fronts, including on clean power, [but] they need to do more on making electricity cheap,” Emma Pinchbeck, chief executive of the CCC, told BBC News.
In response Energy Secretary Ed Miliband thanked the committee for its advice and said it was committed to bringing down bills.
By law, the UK must stop adding to the total amount of planet-warming greenhouse gases in the atmosphere by 2050. This is known as “net zero”.
Reaching net zero carbon dioxide emissions globally is widely seen as essential to limit further warming.
Previous political consensus around the UK’s target has broken down, however, with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch branding it “impossible” and Reform using the phrase “net stupid zero”.
But the committee argues it is achievable and could lead to long-term economic benefits.
“[The UK] can absolutely meet net zero by 2050,” said Ms Pinchbeck.
Greenhouse gas emissions within the UK’s borders have already fallen by more than half since 1990.
But that’s mostly because polluting fossil fuels – particularly coal – have been increasingly replaced with renewable energy like wind and solar for electricity generation.
