The bleak findings of CCAC report should be a wakeup call for the government
A damning report from the Climate Change Advisory Council today confirms the government is all talk and no action when it comes to tackling climate change, according to Social Democrats Climate Spokesperson Jennifer Whitmore.
“There is very little good news in this year’s CCAC annual review. It notes there is a “significant gap” between climate action policy and climate action delivery. In short, the government is all talk and no action.
‘In its damning assessment, the CCAC highlights delays in the implementation of the 2019 Climate Action Plan; the fact that we failed to meet our 2020 target of a 20pc reduction in emissions; the failure to publish the 2020 transition statement and the lack of a long-term emissions reduction strategy – which is now nearly two years overdue.
“Our biggest emitter, the agricultural sector which comprises 37pc of emissions, is described as being “not on a sustainable low-carbon path” while trends in transport, our second biggest emitter, are also “not consistent with a sustainable low-carbon path”.
“The CCAC also makes clear that this year’s Climate Action Plan is not a panacea that can resolve all of the outstanding delays and missed targets. The report notes the measures in that plan “are still insufficient to reach the 51% target by 2030” and raises concerns that detailed timelines for implementation of the plan remain outstanding.
“The bleak findings of CCAC report should be a wakeup call for the government. A failure to publish glossy plans and strategies has never been the problem when it comes to climate action. What has always been lacking is implementation of those plans.
“We are in a race against time to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change, but there is no evidence of the urgency of that mission in the government’s lacklustre response. The CCAC report makes that abundantly clear, citing “little evidence” of necessary changes being made in a number of different Departments.
“Worthy statements, or headline-grabbing targets, will not save us from the devastation of climate change. What we need is resolve, determination, ambition and speedy action. It is time for the government to live up to the promise of its plans – not avoid and evade them.”
8 December, 2021
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