Mixed response to government net-zero strategy

The government’s new net zero strategy has been met with a mixed response, with some praising the ambition of the plans, and others criticising that it doesn’t address key details or lay out policies.

Katie White, director of advocacy and campaigns at WWF, said: “We are finally seeing the UK Government set out a positive vision for net zero, sending a clear signal to every sector of the economy on their role, but we are still lacking the full suite of policies and increased funding to close the gap between climate promises and action.”

It was a concern echoed by the Liberal Democrats, whose leader Ed Davey said: “The UK produces just 2% of global emissions, so to really impact the global fight against climate change we need to stop financiers in the City of London funding the world’s fossil fuel industries

“If the Conservative government is really serious about net-zero it will get this dirty money out of the City of London.”

Rebecca Newson from Greenpeace UK was heavily critical of the plans, saying it “reads more like a pick and mix than the substantial meal that we need to reach net zero.”

But Chris Stark, chief executive of the Climate Change Committee said: “We didn’t have a plan before, now we do.”

“We’ve got lots of work planned to assess the new Net Zero strategy, but pause and reflect that the government has published a document, with a foreword from the Prime Minister, largely mirroring the CCC advice.”