UK climate assembly backs wind, rejects CCS

The UK's Climate Assembly published a report today putting forward its recommended approach to meeting the UK's legally binding target to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

Some 95pc of climate assembly members backed the use of offshore wind technology to contribute towards the country's climate neutrality aim, the report shows, while 81pc supported solar power and 78pc onshore wind.

But other alternative fuels received less support. Just 40pc of members backed the use of bioenergy, while 36pc were unsure and 24pc were against its employment to reach carbon neutrality. Nuclear power received the backing of just 34pc of members, compared with 46pc against using the energy source. And only 22pc supported the continued use of fossil fuels combined with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, compared with 56pc against, with participants saying CCS "only provides a short-term, expensive solution when better alternatives are available".

Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage and direct air carbon capture and storage (DACCS) technologies also received relatively limited support, with 42pc of members backing their use.

This contrasts with UK government support for the technologies. In March it pledged £800mn for CCS development, while in July it announced £100mn of investment in the research and development of DACCS.

But the assembly supported natural methods of removing CO2 from the atmosphere to contribute to the net-zero goal. Some 99pc of members supported better forest management, 85pc the restoration of peatlands, 82pc the use of wood in construction, and 62pc the enhancement of soil carbon storage.

Other sectors

Recommendations put forward by the report for emissions savings in other sectors include a ban on the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars by 2030–35, accompanied by improvements to public transport.

It also called for taxes on air travel that increase the more and further people fly, investment in greenhouse gas removal by the airline industry, and the development of new technologies in the sector such as electric aircraft and synthetic fuels.

At least 80pc of members backed the use of hydrogen, heat pumps and heat networks as solutions for zero-carbon heating in homes.

And the report voiced support for reducing the amount and carbon intensity of energy used to manufacture products, calling for the promotion of product sharing and recycling. It also recommended better farmland management, an increased focus on purchasing local produce, and a reduction in meat and dairy consumption.

Covid opportunity

The assembly urged the government to "harness the opportunities afforded by the response to Covid-19 and the upcoming Cop 26 event to drive a conversation about more international co-ordinated action on climate change".

This echoes advice from government advisory body the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) published in June, which emphasised the opportunity presented by the Covid-19 recovery for investment in climate action.

The UK is presiding over the next UN climate summit, Cop 26, jointly with Italy. The event will take place in Glasgow in November 2021, having been postponed by a year owing to the coronavirus pandemic.

"It is vital that parliament and government examine and use the recommendations the assembly sets out today," chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy select committee Darren Jones said on the publication of the report.

And the CCC indicated that it would draw on the report's recommendations "where possible" in forming its advice to government on the sixth carbon budget, which the body is expected to publish in December and covers 2033-37.

"The views of the assembly are useful in two ways," CCC chair Chris Stark said. "They help inform the scenarios we are developing to demonstrate how the UK can reach net-zero emissions, and they are particularly useful in considering the policies that will help achieve the goal."

By Victoria Hatherick