‘Net zero isn’t woke, it’s a serious thing,’ says outgoing head of UK climate watchdog
The outgoing chief executive of the UK’s climate committee is warning the continued politicisation of net zero will end up hurting the economy, but so will unrealistic policies to achieve it.
When Chris Stark took over at the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), “net zero” was the science-based goal towards which the UK’s climate change policies had to be focused, he said.
“Net zero is now a concept that you can attack as a slogan,” he told Sky News.
“A bit like a container for all the culture warrior concerns that we have around some of the things that need to be done to get to net zero.”
He commended the government for the “remarkable” progress made on decarbonising electricity generation in the UK.
But Mr Stark said the recent shift in political rhetoric, starting with Rishi Sunak’s speech last autumn around the affordability of net zero, was likely to diminish progress.
“He framed net zero as a cost, I see it as an opportunity,” said Mr Stark. “If it is just about managing costs, then net zero is going to be very difficult to achieve.”
He has criticised some in the environmental movement for overzealous and unrealistic expectations of the government around environmental targets.
Mr Stark says a recent shift in political rhetoric is likely to diminish progress
But Mr Stark also rejected the labelling of climate ambition as “woke ideology” by senior Conservative ministers, including Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho.
“Net zero, it’s not ‘woke’, it’s a serious thing,” he said.
“We led the world intellectually on the economics of climate change and we are still in the forefront globally, of modern large economies, decarbonising.
“It’s weird to me that we wouldn’t want to celebrate that.”
Mr Stark pointed to the rapid shift in the US toward low carbon energy under the Inflation Reduction Act, and the electrification of cars in countries including China. Economic advantages that the UK has a headstart in, but risks losing if it continues to focus on the costs of decarbonisation.
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But he warned overambitious climate targets requiring policies that punish consumers, particularly poorer ones, would end in failure too.
Mr Stark argued Scotland’s recent abandoning of its interim net zero target – one that the CCC warned was likely unachievable – is a case in point.
Policies will only be successful if they make it easy, or at least affordable for consumers. And while carbon emissions need to be reduced urgently, for some things, there is time, he said.
“I think it’s only when you get to cheaper [electric] cars that you can have a discussion about that being a credible option for somebody who’s driving a petrol car – a banger – right now,” said Mr Stark.
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Reductions in technology costs happening with things such as electric cars and devices like heat pumps will make them more affordable and ultimately, the cheapest option, he added.
But that positive message has been lost since he began leading the climate change committee, said the outgoing CCC boss.
“It’s a brave politician to make those arguments right now, because there’s voices in populism who are happy to tell you how hard this is going to be,” said Mr Stark.
“But in the end, other countries around the world are really rushing at this now, so we don’t want to miss out.”
UK drivers are “confused” by the country’s electric car transition, ministers are being warned.
Although most drivers are not hostile towards electric vehicles (EVs), many are confused about what changes are coming and when, according to new research from the AA.
In a survey of more than 14,000 AA members, 7% thought the government was banning the sale of used petrol and diesel cars.
Around a third thought manual EVs exist, despite them all being automatic.
More than one in five said they would never buy an EV.
The government’s plan for increasing the number of electric vehicles being driven in the UK focuses heavily on increasing the supply of the vehicles.
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What you can do to reach net zero
In 2024, at least 22% of new cars and 10% of new vans sold by each manufacturer in the UK had to be zero-emission, which generally means pure electric.
Each year, those percentages will rise, reaching 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans in 2030.
Manufacturers will face fines of £15,000 per vehicle if electric vehicle sales fall short of 28% of total production this year.
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By 2035, all new cars and vans will be required to be fully zero emission, according to the Department for Transport.
Second-hand diesel and petrol cars will still be allowed to be sold after this date, and their fuel will still be available.
There are more EVs – but will people buy them?
In February, 25% of new cars were powered purely by battery and in January, they made up 21% of all new cars registered in the UK.
But despite the growth of electric sales, manufacturers continue to warn that the market will not support the growth required to hit government EV targets, and called for consumer incentives and the extension of tax breaks.
The AA suggested the government’s plan focuses on “supply but does little to encourage demand for EVs”.
It called on ministers to co-ordinate a public awareness campaign alongside the motoring industry which directly targets drivers who doubt the viability of EVs.
“Our message to government is more needs to be done to make EVs accessible for everyone,” said Jakob Pfaudler, AA chief executive.
Which? head of consumer rights Sue Davis said: “When it comes to making sustainable choices such as switching to an electric car, our research shows that people are often held back by high costs, complex choices or uncertainty.
“The government needs to provide the right information on electric vehicles and other sustainable choices so that people have the confidence to switch.”
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We’re investing over £2.3bn to help industry and consumers make a supported switch to EVs.
“This includes installing a public charge point every 28 minutes, keeping EV incentives in the company car tax regime to 2030, and extending 100% first-year allowances for zero-emission cars for another year.
“Second-hand EVs are also becoming cheaper than ever, with one in three available under £20,000 and 21 brand new models available for less than £30,000.
“We’re seeing growing consumer confidence as a result.”
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