Reacting to the Committee on Climate Change statement that the UK government must immediately set a legally binding target to cut greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050 [1], Caroline Lucas has said:
“I warmly welcome this rigorous & timely report, and hope the Government will take particular note of its powerful recommendation that net zero should be pursued through bold action here at home without recourse to controversial international offsets or credits.
"However we need a significantly earlier target date to ensure we reach a more certain outcome, and to reflect both our consumption, and historical, emissions. We needed to be guided by what’s scientifically necessary, not just what’s deemed to be currently 'politically possible'.
"The report also contains a stark warning - ministers can’t simply adopt a net zero target without radical change in the short term. That makes it all the more galling that this Government has scrapped many of the politics we know that we always needed, from scrapping support for clean energy to ditching a commitment to zero carbon homes. If they’re serious about the “Climate Emergency” that was declared by parliament yesterday, we need to see an immediate step change in action”
Caroline Lucas reaction to Committee on Climate Change statement