Weakening UK net zero policy would damage economy, chief climate adviser says

Weakening the UK’s net zero policy would disrupt business and damage the economy, the UK’s chief climate adviser has warned. Nigel Topping, chair of the Climate Change Committee (CCC), said: “The U-turns are really damaging to inward investor confidence. If we really want to grow the economy, then investing and getting good at building stuff is essential.” His intervention comes as the CCC published its latest report to parliament on Wednesday , on progress towards the target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The report found that although the push towards renewable energy has gone well, and more people are switching to electric cars, the take-up of heat pumps has lagged behind severely. Topping pointed to a recent CBI report finding the net zero economy was worth about £100bn a year to the UK, growing faster than the rest of the economy and producing higher paid jobs. “We’ve got the institutional infrastructure in place since the [2008] Climate Change Act, and real consistency of direction and progress, and we know that consistency is super important for industry in making investment decisions,” he said. In the wake of Keir Starmer’s resignation, the stance of his likely successor, Andy Burnham, on green issues has come under renewed scrutiny . …