The Climate Change Committee (CCC) 2023 Progress Report to Parliament paints a picture of slowing progress, missed opportunities and a loss of global leadership on net zero.
This statutory report, published on Wednesday 28 June 2023, provides a comprehensive overview of the UK Government’s progress to date in reducing emissions.
It warns that policy development continues to be too slow and the CCC’s confidence in the UK meeting its medium-term targets has decreased in the past year.
Lord Deben, CCC Chairman, urged the Government to regroup on net zero and commit to bolder delivery. He said: “This is the period when pace must be prioritised over perfection.”
The South West Infrastructure Partnership welcomed the report and highlighted the synergy between the CCC’s renewed calls for accelerated action and the South West Vision 2050.
Paula Hewitt, Chair, South West Infrastructure Partnership said:
“We believe that regional action to decarbonise and adapt our infrastructure to the future climate is necessary, alongside national and international action. We have developed a unique regional collaborative partnership of infrastructure providers and users, along with academic and industry experts to take a system wide approach.
“We welcome the CCC’s clear message to Government for urgency and decisive actions, which echoes our own ask of political leaders to be bold and accountable on reducing emissions.”
The South West Vision 2050, published by SWIP earlier this year, sets out the key challenges, drivers for change and potential enablers within the South West as we adapt and reduce carbon emissions between now and 2050. The vision identifies four areas for action to reduce carbon emissions by 2050, all with a focus on the end user:
- People & nature-based decision making – Better identify and meet user needs, with infrastructure underpinned by values and equity.
- Addressing behaviours, skill, literacy, and communication – Act with ambition and urgency to make best use of our technology, skills, and knowledge – work collaboratively and responsibly for the benefit of society as a whole.
- Connectivity & collaboration – Adopt whole systems thinking to remove barriers and enable investment, working more collaboratively across sectors and engaging with all stakeholders.
- Resource access & efficiency – Make better use of existing resources, whether it is funding, data, waste (materials, energy, and effort) and instilling a sense of urgency.
The vision is underpinned by the SWIP Integrating Net Zero Route Map.
SWIP is writing to the CCC to highlight its approach, vision, and net zero route map.