The government risks failing to deliver net zero

Boris Johnson and his ministers have been issued a stark warning, writes Saphora Smith

Climate campaigners have been calling for an energy efficiency push for years. (Philip Toscano/PA) (PA Wire)

It does not look good. A damning new report by the government’s own advisers has found that it is failing to deliver policies to decarbonise the UK’s economy and meet its crucial net zero target.

“Across the board there are serious gaps,” Climate Change Chairman, Lord Deben, said in a briefing on the government’s progress toward net zero on Wednesday. “Under the present proposals we don’t believe that you can reach the statutory, the legal, targets which we need to reach.”

The committee, which was set up under the 2008 Climate Change Act to advise and monitor the UK’s climate targets, found that while there had been progress on some plans, such as the deployment of renewable electricity and electric cars, in most areas the likelihood of under-delivery remained high.