Taxes on electricity should be shifted to gas so that people feel more benefit from using green technologies like heat pumps in their homes, the government’s climate advisers say.
The Climate Change Committee (CCC) says the change would mean consumers seeing clearer benefits from switching away from gas boilers, which emit CO2 and are a major cause of climate change.
The Committee also wants the new government to reverse the steps taken by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to slow down carbon cutting plans.
The CCC says the UK is in danger of missing a 2030 climate target, which is seen as a critical step on the road to net-zero emissions by 2050.
Net-zero means the moment when the UK is no longer adding to the overall total of planet warming gases in the atmosphere.
Only one third of the actions that the UK needs to take to hit the 2030 goal are backed up by credible plans, the CCC says in its annual report.
The key actions that need to be taken include ramping up renewable energy, a faster switch to electric vehicles, and installing significantly more heat pumps in our homes to replace gas boilers.
There needs to be a big increases in tree planting and peatland restoration as well.
According to the CCC, rollbacks announced by Mr Sunak last Autumn were damaging to overall UK efforts.
In particular, Mr Sunak set out exemptions to the phase out of new fossil fuel boilers, due to come in from 2035.
These are expected to exempt about a fifth of homes.
But the CCC says this “could seriously undermine the UK’s ability to reach its targets.”
The CCC says that to get back on track for 2030, the proportion of homes using heat pumps
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