The UK and other nations are committed to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. However, to keep global warming to no more than 1.5°C, as called for in the 2015 Paris Agreement, emissions need to be reduced by 45% by 2030.
Significant early changes in the way we live are required. There are costs associated with these changes, that may affect us directly or through taxation, but the do-nothing option is worse.
Richard Tyce, the Reform UK leader, has claimed that we need to scrap our net zero policies in order to fund the NHS. This statement does not make sense, as many analyses have shown that the financial benefits of net-zero policies exceed the costs. And that is even before you consider additional benefits, such as reducing pollution and reducing the risk of large-scale migration from the countries worst affected by climate change.
Under Rishi Sunak we are not on track to meet our climate change targets. Can we step in as individuals and do our best?
Well, it is actually difficult to do this in the absence of guidance and leadership.
What can we do?
Heating of buildings is a major source of carbon emissions. Do we have optimal insulation in our home?
Commissioning an Energy Performance Certificate can help to identify what improvements are possible. Manuals like the one written by Tony Cowling (Draughtproofing and Insulation: A Practical Guide, 2023) are also useful.
Grants are available, that reduce the cost of insulation if certain criteria are met, but public awareness of these grants is low.
We should all start planning how to replace our gas boilers, especially if coming to the end of their lifespan. The obvious replacement would be a heat air pump.
However, some members of the public are under the illusion that heat pumps may not be required, as we could just wait for a future when hydrogen, that does not generate greenhouse gas emissions, will be delivered instead of methane through the existing gas network.
The problem is that it does not seem likely at all that hydrogen could replace methane: it would be too expensive to produce on a large scale, and it may not be safe.
Mine water heat could be an alternative to air heat pumps, at least for those homes and businesses located above former coal mines. There has been a mine water heating scheme in Gateshead since 2023, and a similar scheme is being planned in Seaham in a newly built housing estate.
However, it is not clear to me whether the use of mine water heat on a large scale is realistic.
Heat air pumps are likely to remain the main strategy to decarbonise heating, but we are falling behind the installation targets, in part because of low awareness and fears of disruption from the layout changes.
With the current energy prices heat pumps may be slightly more expensive to run than gas boilers: to increase the uptake we need to rebalance the energy costs by moving environmental taxes from electricity to gas.
Fitting heat pumps into new homes will be mandatory only from 2025: this delay has been a mistake, as installation in new building is easier than retrofitting. Installation can be more challenging in flats and in mid-terraced houses, but it is usually possible.
Transport is another major source of carbon emissions that we could bring under control. 22% of new cars sold in the UK in 2024 should be electric vehicles (EVs) and, eventually, all new cars should be EVs. However, again, we are failing to meet the targets.
Selling more EVs requires not just affordable prices but also a faster expansion of public charging points, including fast ones. Furthermore, as charging EVs at home is the cheapest and most convenient option, we need to find a solution for the many people who do not have off-street parking which allows a home charger (typically residents in flats or terraced houses).
Using public chargers can double or triple the cost of charging EVs. We need government’s initiatives to bring about a network of street chargers with prices comparable to the domestic electricity tariffs.
A serious debate aimed at finding practical solutions is required, rather than anti-net zero populism.
