Understanding net zero

Introduction

According to many scientific bodies, the Earth is warming fast because greenhouse gases are trapping heat and affecting our climate, with potentially catastrophic results.

In a nutshell, net zero aims to counteract this trend, with steps to cut CO2 and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to as near to zero as feasible. At the same time, the remaining gases would be removed through natural reabsorption in forests and oceans.

The UK government has produced a wide range of strategic climate-abatement documents under the overarching strategy outlined in the 2020 Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution. Since publication of that document, the government has set out detailed plans for achieving climate goals in the Net Zero Strategy launched last October.

Allied to that are comprehensive strategies for all major sectors including the Transport Decarbonisation Plan, the Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy, the Heat and Buildings Strategy, along with policies for fuel supply, hydrogen, natural resources, waste, fluorinated gases and GHG removal.

Net Zero Strategy

The UK has decarbonised faster than any other G7 country, but more has to be achieved. The strategy advises that since 1990 the UK has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 44%, while the economy grew by more than 75%. (1)

The UK Net Zero Strategy is guided by four key principles:

1. Working with “the grain of consumer choice” – no forced actions.

2. The biggest polluters will pay the most for transition through fair carbon pricing.

3. The most vulnerable are protected through energy bill discounts, energy efficiency upgrades etc.

4. Working with businesses to continue delivering deep cost reductions in low carbon technology.

(© Crown 2024 copyright Defra & BEIS via naei.beis.gov.uk, licenced under the Open Government Licence (OGL).)

The plan is for green transition over the next 30 years. Many of the policies in the strategy will be phased in over the next decade or longer with policies and proposals to maintain progress on carbon budgets. Underpinning strategy is the Climate Change Act that breaks up the global heating challenge into five-year long carbon budgets.

There is a clear delivery pathway showing indicative emissions reductions across sectors to meet targets up to the sixth carbon budget (2033-2037) and build the momentum to achieve the net zero target by 2050.

The Net Zero Strategy has been submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as the UK’s second Long-Term Low Greenhouse Gas Emission Development Strategy under the Paris Agreement.

Clean technologies

Central to the Net Zero Strategy is the commitment to stimulate multi-billion-pound investment in clean technologies that sharpen economic competitiveness. Policy plans and spending commitments are expected to unlock £90 billion of private sector investment in the years to 2030, creating around 444,000 jobs. (2)  (© Crown 2024 copyright Defra & BEIS via naei.beis.gov.uk, licenced under the Open Government Licence (OGL).)

There is renewed focus on nuclear, carbon capture & storage (CCS), and hydrogen fuel projects, with plans to establish two zero-carbon industrial hubs, as well as increased funding for electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure, heat-pump installations, sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs), and natural carbon sinks.

The strategy advises:

“Overall, a successful and orderly transition for the economy could realise more benefits – improved resource efficiency for businesses, lower household costs, and wider health co-benefits – than an economy based on fossil fuel consumption.” (© Crown 2024 copyright Defra & BEIS via naei.beis.gov.uk, licenced under the Open Government Licence (OGL).)

The energy crisis during the  winter of 2023 might have made the net zero transition less appealing to some sectors of the UK but at the same time it underlines the importance of reducing reliance on fossil-fuel energy that increases GHGs in the atmosphere.

Conclusion

To maintain the net zero momentum and meet the 2050 target,  the government recognises the need for investment and ongoing support for businesses.

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Bibliography:

1 Gov.uk Policy Paper (Accessed May 2024) Net Zer Strategy: Build Back Greener https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/net-zero-strategy

2 Gov.uk Press Release (Accessed May 2024) UK’s path to net zero set out in landmark strategy https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uks-path-to-net-zero-set-out-in-landmark-strategy