Independent review of the government’s Net Zero target and what progress is being made
In 2019, the UK Government and the devolved administrations committed to the Net Zero target as recommended by the Climate Change Committee. Now Chris Skidmore MP has undertaken a review of the government’s Net Zero plans. It looks at all sectors what progress has been achieved, and what is needed. There are many mentions of aviation, including how the sector will be responsible for an ever larger % of total UK carbon emissions, unless strong measures are taken. The review wants much more investment in so-called “sustainable aviation fuels” (SAF). It says Government should publish the Low Carbon Fuels Strategy in 2023 and the necessary legislation for the sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) mandate to apply from 2025. “Recognising that an adequate price stability mechanism is vital for investments in SAF, government should set out evidence for barriers to SAF investments and options to address this.” And “In particular in the aviation industry, there are currently several projects looking at so-called recycled carbon fuels. To ensure these fuels deliver carbon savings, it will be important to ensure that these adhere to waste hierarchy principles and potential reduction in waste streams is considered. ” It also calls for an Office for Net Zero delivery for joined-up, cross departmental work and action.
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MISSION ZERO
Independent Review of Net Zero
Rt Hon Chris Skidmore MP
The review is at
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1128689/mission-zero-independent-review.pdf
A few quotes from it, on aviation:
353. Apart from biomass, other waste sources such as the fossil fraction of mixed waste
streams (for example unrecyclable plastics) or waste fossil gas as well as electricity
(power-to-liquids) can be used in the production of low carbon fuels other than hydrogen. In
particular in the aviation industry, there are currently several projects looking at so-called
recycled carbon fuels. To ensure these fuels deliver carbon savings, it will be important to
ensure that these adhere to waste hierarchy principles and potential reduction in waste streams is considered.
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617. For heavier, long-distance vehicles as well as maritime and aviation, zero
emission technologies are still at an earlier stage of development. These sectors will likely need to rely on a mix of different technologies, including electrification, hydrogen, low carbon fuels as well as maximizing operational efficiencies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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Delivering on sustainable fuels and zero emission technologies
Government to publish the Low Carbon Fuels Strategy in 2023 and the necessary legislation
for the sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) mandate to apply from 2025. Recognising that an
adequate price stability mechanism is vital for investments in SAF, government to set out
evidence for barriers to SAF investments and options to address this.
Government to set out options for further legislative steps by 2024 and take a leading role in
International Maritime Organization (IMO) negotiations to decarbonise the maritime sector.
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629 . Stakeholders highlighted, for example, that to meet the Government’s ambition to have five sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plants under construction by 2025 and 10% of all UK jet fuel to be sustainable by 2025, government needs to take further action, most notably “a mandate for fuel producers and the right incentives to close the price gap with kerosene”.
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632. Some stakeholders also highlighted the need to drive operational efficiencies. Taking aviation as an example, Airlines UK highlighted delays linked to infrastructure and airport capacity that force aircrafts to “stack, bunch and circle airports waiting for arrival slots”.
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450. The British Airline Pilots Association flagged that ‘economic tankering’, i.e. the carriage of extra fuel to avoid paying higher fuel costs elsewhere, means “typically 3-5% of the extra fuel is wasted per hour”.
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451. Alongside technological changes, government and industry should continue to
increase operational efficiencies. As part of this, government should for example identify
voluntary and mandatory options to put an end to ‘economic tankering’ by airlines by 2023.
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634. Many respondents also highlighted the international character of the aviation and maritime sector, and the need for joint action and collaboration across borders. Building on the UK’s leading role in International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and International Maritime Organization (IMO), the Government should drive ambitious policies to decarbonise
transport at international level, working with partner countries to effect change.
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1072. By 2030, the current sectors covered by the UK ETS will only cover 18% of UK territorial emissions and as the table below shows, sectors such as agriculture and international aviation and shipping will continue to increase their share of the UK’s emissions towards 2050 as other sectors decarbonise. This highlights the need to expand the scope of the UK ETS in order to ensure a meaningful carbon market of sufficient magnitude and further encourage other sectors to decarbonise.
Also
The UK 100 argued:
“We need a comprehensive, local Net Zero Delivery Framework to include:
A National and Net Zero Delivery Board to deliver the framework and tackle blockages and
barriers where the Delivery Unit (see below) notes systemic policy or funding barriers and
contradictions. An independent Chair reporting directly to the Cabinet Office with members
from across local authorities, devolved administrations and national Government.
A new National and Net Zero Delivery Unit to deliver the support programme, collect and
analyse data and act as a channel between individual authorities and the Board and
government departments, with wide representation from across the UK Government and
informed by local and combined authorities and national Government”.117
A new Office for Net Zero Delivery
Government to establish an ‘Office for Net Zero Delivery’ by Spring 2023, to ensure that the
cross-departmental priorities for net zero are properly managed.
Net-zero tsar urges ‘step change’ in UK approach to meeting climate targets
Chris Skidmore sets new targets on solar power, the ban on new gas boilers and export of plastic waste
By Jim Pickard, Camilla Hodgson and Nathalie Thomas in London
JANUARY 12th 2023
Downing Street’s net-zero tsar is set to recommend a fivefold increase in solar power, an earlier ban on new gas boilers by 2033 and curbs on the export of plastic waste by 2027 in a far-reaching report to be published on Monday.
Chris Skidmore, Tory MP and former science and universities minister, was commissioned in the autumn to conduct a review of Britain’s 2050 emissions target to ensure that it is consistent with the government’s pro-growth and pro-business strategy.
With Britain in the grip of a cost of living crisis, some Conservative MPs are suspicious of the net-zero target, believing it will impose unnecessary costs on the UK for decades to come.
But Skidmore is expected to emphasise that the transition to a low-carbon economy is “the industrial revolution of our time” with opportunities for companies, which need more government certainty, according to a leaked draft of the 340-page report.
“We have heard from businesses that economic opportunities are being missed today because of weaknesses in the UK’s investment environment — whether that be skills shortages or inconsistent policy commitment,” the report said.
Although Skidmore was commissioned by former prime minister Liz Truss, work on the review has continued under the premier Rishi Sunak.
Grant Shapps, business and energy secretary, said: “The UK is well placed to ensure that tackling climate change also brings new jobs and investment for businesses and communities. I am grateful to Chris Skidmore for his detailed report today, which offers a range of ideas and innovations for us to consider as we work to grasp the opportunities from green growth.”
The report advocated reforms to local and national planning systems to “unleash” cheaper forms of electricity generation — onshore wind and solar — albeit with the caveat “where [such technologies are] locally supported”.
The review called for the British government to set an official target for solar power for the first time — proposing that the UK develops 70GW of solar generation by 2035 compared to the current figure of 14GW.
Last March, Kwasi Kwarteng, then business secretary, had wanted to set a firm 50GW solar target in the government’s energy security review.
In the report, Skidmore urged the Treasury to give greater “longer-term certainty” to nuclear power stations, hydrogen technology and carbon capture and storage projects.
He advised Sunak to carry out a “cross-sectoral infrastructure strategy” by 2025 to ensure that the country is equipped for greater demand for electricity, hydrogen and “other liquid fuels”.
Skidmore proposed a faster end to the installation of gas boilers, saying this should happen in 2033 instead of 2035, while accelerating action to make electric heat pumps “a widespread technology in the UK”.
The document also advised legislating that all homes and commercial buildings reach a certain standard of energy efficiency within a few years. It also acknowledged that the rise in electric cars “will require reforms to fuel duty and road taxation”.
More broadly, the MP urged a “step-change” in the government’s approach to the government’s climate targets by creating an “Office for Net Zero Delivery” to take ownership of priorities spanning multiple departments.
“The review has heard from many respondents frustrated by a lack of long-term thinking, siloed behaviour from government departments, and uncertainty over the length of funding commitments,” he wrote.
Ministers should reconsider how to use the tax system and capital allowances to incentivise investment in decarbonisation, the report suggested. Meanwhile, ministers should seek to “de-risk” investment projects by providing guarantees to attract private finance.
Amanda Blanc, chief executive of Aviva, welcomed the “ambitious” review and urged both main political parties to “act swiftly on its recommendations”.
The review also advised the government to create a standardised approach to “ecolabelling” by 2025, ban the export of British plastic waste by 2027 and lift the minimum percentage of recycled content targets for a range of products.
The Treasury had previously estimated that the cost of reaching net zero would be £1tn over the next three decades. But Skidmore’s report argued that the benefits will ultimately outweigh the costs.
“In some estimates, the UK would see approximately 2 per cent additional growth in GDP, through the benefits from new jobs, increased economic activity, reduced fossil fuel imports and cost savings,” it said. “These estimates do not reflect the risk and disruption of not acting.”
https://www.ft.com/content/3e708179-f8a8-481a-857d-421589c59bcc
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Comment: Net zero Review
13 January 2023
Reacting to the Independent Review of Net Zero by Rt Hon Chris Skidmore MP, Environmental Audit Committee Chairman, Rt Hon Philip Dunne MP, said:
“Chris Skidmore’s Net Zero Review report demonstrates, unequivocally, the countless opportunities net zero brings. His emphasis on clarity and leadership cannot be overstated. In some areas the UK Government has made major advances in tackling climate change, and its stated ambition is undoubted. But inconsistent policies and a lack of coherence across Government in implementation, with little effective cross departmental governance, does not give confidence to those sectors that will drive real change and develop green skills.
Getting the tools in place to deliver net zero makes economic sense, and can cement our role as a world leader in tackling climate change. The benefits are too critical to get this wrong.
The review reflects many issues the Environmental Audit Committee has been calling for over the years. Just last week we recommended that all new builds should have solar panels installed, and that the Government must consider the potential of onshore wind. In our work on hydrogen, we recognised that the sector is lacking the clarity from the Government: a clear plan is necessary. The Committee has acknowledged that in its current form, the EPC system needs improvement: a new Net Zero Performance Certificate may be the answer.
As a society, we need to get better at reducing, reusing and recycling and move towards a circular economy. From fashion to electricals, this approach should be standard: being wasteful is not consistent with our net zero goals.
Embedding nature and habitat restoration is critical, and I am pleased that the review acknowledges the important role biodiversity has in tackling climate change. Ministers should carefully consider all the recommendations of this important review, which plainly sets out just what needs to be done to drive beneficial and meaningful change. All eyes will now be on the Government’s response.”