Fairness must drive 7th Carbon Budget says select committee

Responding to a new report out today from the Environmental Audit Committee which calls on the government to ensure fairness is at the heart of its Seventh Carbon Budget, Mike Childs, head of science, policy and research at Friends of the Earth, said:

"The Committee is spot on. The government must do far more to ensure climate action is fair and tackles rising inequality. Years of high energy bills have hit people on the lowest incomes the hardest. As long as we remain hooked on costly gas and in thrall to the volatility of the global market – fuelled by instability, as we're seeing once again in the Middle East – people will pay the price for the UK’s continued exposure to price shocks. That's why we urgently need to accelerate the roll-out of cheap renewable energy.

“On top of this, costs added to our bills to help pay for the government’s energy agenda have only exacerbated their unaffordability. These policies would be much better paid for through a fairer tax system where those who have the broadest shoulders, and are more able to, contribute the lion’s share.

“Separately, the report also reinforces what we’ve long argued about aviation expansion: that the government’s over-reliance on budding technologies, such as Sustainable Aviation Fuels and carbon removal, is extremely risky while significant uncertainty remains over their scalability, cost and delivery timescales. The government must not allow further expansion until these technologies are proven to be viable. The aviation industry must also do far more to curtail its emissions.”

ENDS