Protection for low income households key to net zero support

• A link to the YouGov polling can be found here.
• A link to the full Fairness Test report can be found here. 

The new YouGov survey also finds nearly two thirds (65%) of people support those on the lowest incomes receiving government grants to help pay for climate measures. The poll found that 85% say those most responsible for pollution should shoulder the costs of addressing the harm it causes. Furthermore, nearly two thirds (65%) are worried about the impacts of climate change on young people and future generations

The findings add weight to a new Friends of the Earth report out today, which sets out a 10-point ‘fairness checklist’ for the UK government’s forthcoming climate plan

Over half of people (54%) think that policies to reduce carbon emissions should only be introduced if they do not leave low-income households worse off financially, according to new polling published by YouGov today. This compares to just 14% who want net zero policies regardless of their impact on people on low incomes.  

The survey, commissioned by Friends of the Earth to coincide with the publication of its new report called The Fairness Test, also reveals that nearly two thirds (65%) of people would support the government offering grants to those on low incomes to help them pay for the measures needed to reduce the UK’s carbon emissions.  

The Fairness Test spells out the steps that must be taken across transport, homes and industry to ensure that meeting climate goals reduces, rather than exacerbates, inequalities. The new YouGov polling bolsters the report’s arguments that climate policies must be designed a way that ensures the benefits – and – costs of climate action are distributed fairly across society.

The group also says that the most marginalised communities who are disproportionately impacted by climate and environmental harm – including people of colour, disabled people and those on the lowest incomes – must not left to pick up the tab for a problem they’ve contributed least to. 

With inflation driving up living costs, inequality deepening and off the back of decades of wage stagnation, the group believes this approach is vital for maintaining high levels of public support for the green transition.  

When asked whether those most responsible for causing pollution should bear the costs for addressing the harm it causes, the overwhelming majority (85%) of people agreed they should. According to research by Oxfam, the richest 1% of people globally emit the same amount of pollution as the poorest two thirds of humanity.  

That’s why Friends of the Earth is calling for a wealth tax on the super-rich and the introduction of the ‘polluter pays’ principle to ensure companies are taxed according to the harm they cause. Estimates suggest this could raise £60 billion a year which could be used to fund vital measures for reducing emissions, such as insulating all homes to a high standard (EPC rating C), installing heat pumps for those on the lowest incomes, and doubling bus services.

Backing calls for higher taxes for the UK’s wealthiest individuals and polluting companies, Julia Davies, impact investor, millionaire, and founding member of Patriotic Millionaires UK, said:

“Growing wealth inequality is rapidly destroying safe living conditions on Earth, with the obscenely rich most responsible for emissions. The government needs to tax millionaires – like me – more to fund the rapid transition that we all desperately need.”

The Fairness Test also examines the ways in which young people and future generations are among those most affected by climate breakdown. It makes the case for greater involvement in climate decision-making by those at the sharp end, including the implementation of a permanent citizens jury or assembly. Such forums bring together a representative group of citizens to deliberate over key issues and make recommendations to decisionmakers. With the survey showing nearly two thirds (65%) of people worry about the impacts of climate change on these young people and future generations, it’s vital the UK has strong climate policies to limit the harm felt.  

The report’s publication comes ahead of the government producing a revised climate plan for delivering on the UK’s climate targets. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has a legal obligation to do so following two successful legal challenges by Friends of the Earth and others, which found the former government’s plans to be inadequate.  

The research lays bare the many ways that well-designed climate policies can better people’s lives and reduce existing inequalities by tackling interconnected issues in the way of lower energy bills, warmer homes, cheaper public transport, and a stronger, more resilient economy, which the group is urging the government to factor into its new climate plan.

Dr Nazanin Rassa is a doctor who campaigns for health justice, with a focus on health impacts from unsafe housing. Commenting on the link between policies to tackle climate change and health injustice, she said:  

“When I talk about being forced to live in unsafe housing, I often share my family’s example because that’s where this work started for me, and it’s something I see every day in my work as a clinical doctor too.

“From the moment we began our lives in the UK, my mum’s health has been threatened by mouldy, damp and cold housing. In 2023, this was made worse by soaring energy prices that meant she, like many, struggled to keep her home warm.

“Our current housing crisis is caused by a web of intersecting issues, including heat-leaking homes with poor energy efficiency, shortages in social housing, a broken energy system dependent on volatile gas prices, systemic oppression and entrenched poverty. Climate policies like insulating homes go beyond saving the environment, they save lives too. We need a fairer climate plan that prioritises warm homes that people can feel safe living in. With better health and more money in our pockets, our economy will benefit too.”

Anna Roguski, senior climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said:

“When well thought-through, we know that climate action improves lives through cleaner air, lower energy bills, cheaper and better quality public transport, and stronger energy security. But what makes it doubly important is that it’s the most robust aspect of our economy too – last year the net zero economy grew 10% while other sectors lagged behind, generating a whopping £83bn. 

“With the escalating impacts of climate breakdown accelerating globally as countries like the US turn their back on decisive climate action, it couldn’t be more crucial for the government to get its revised plan right and show the public these vital measures will make life happier, healthier and fairer for all. Any good plan relies on adequate funding from the government, so the government must guarantee green policies are not the casualty of the upcoming Spring Statement.”

Friends of the Earth’s 10-point fairness checklist, as set out in the report, calls on the UK government and its forthcoming climate plan to:

• Exceed climate targets - Overachieve on all carbon reduction targets to minimise the impact of climate change on young people and future generations.
• Consult impacted communities - Be developed in consultation with people most directly impacted by climate change and/or policies to cut emissions through, for example, a citizen’s jury or climate assembly.  
• Reduce inequality - Use a detailed Equality Impact Assessment to show that people experiencing poverty and inequality will be better off as a result of the climate plan.
• Ensure polluters and the wealthy pay - Fund emissions cuts and overseas climate support primarily through taxes on polluters and the wealthy, not by increasing taxes on people with the lowest incomes.
• Guarantee warm homes - Insulate all low-income households to at least EPC ‘C’ level by 2035 at the latest and eradicate fuel poverty by 2030, including through introducing a social tariff for energy.
• Make clean technology available for everyone - Ensure that low-income households benefit from technologies to cut emissions. Provide them with free heat pumps and support them in switching to electric cars.
• Double bus services - Double bus services by 2030 to help people without a car access jobs, amenities, and social networks easily and affordably.
• Reduce the cost of electricity - Lower electricity prices to internationally competitive levels so industries can go green without risking job losses or businesses moving abroad.  
• Invest in green jobs - Deliver a fair transition for workers in sectors like oil and gas, vehicle manufacturing and steel. This must include retraining for equivalent jobs in other industries or, where appropriate, remaining within existing sectors.  
• Support low-carbon farming - Increase subsidies for low-carbon farming and support farmers to diversify into renewable energy generation, ensuring they can significantly contribute to cutting emissions.

ENDS