If Liz Truss is looking to make a fresh start in her leadership, a bipartisan group of lawmakers has suggested some answers in the form of a 10-item wish list on climate and nature.
Triple the capacity of floating offshore wind farms, restore 30% of the UK’s saltmarshes and seagrass pastures, and extend the mandate of existing energy companies to make more homes efficient is included in the parliamentarians’ recommendation for the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG). environment.
Their new report, released Tuesday, suggests most measures can be taken easily and with support across Congress. Some are technical, such as expanding tax breaks on investments in electric vehicles and reducing VAT on public electric vehicle charging points from 20% to 5%.
MPs also called on the Prime Minister to create a net-zero devolution agreement covering all of Britain’s devolved governments and to use environmental legislation to introduce ambitious targets for the restoration of the natural environment. increase. A new office for carbon removal should regulate carbon offsets and increase funding for farmers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Truss’ determination to deregulate by wiping out environmental protection and planning regulations has drawn the ire of UK conservation groups. A U-turn on Downing Street’s enthusiasm for deregulation could bring them back.
RSPB CEO Beccy Speight said: The simple fact is that without ambitious, long-term goals for restoration, governments cannot deliver on their own environmental promises. and maintaining and strengthening them for people is an essential step that must not be delayed or abandoned. ”
The bipartisan group of lawmakers has the support of nature and environmental charities, the renewable energy and electric vehicle industries, and many local governments.
Labor MP and Environmental APPG Vice-Chair Alan Whitehead said insulation must be a priority as the government grapples with the cost of living crisis. “Expensive fossil fuels are making UK homes colder and destroying the planet. A retrofitting revolution is needed to permanently lower energy bills and carbon emissions while creating jobs across the country.” He said.
The obligation for energy companies to allow the lowest income households to adopt a range of energy efficiency measures was increased by the last Prime Minister, Kwasi Kwarten, by £1bn over three years. But APPG says Hunt knows he can do more.
Mr Whitehead said:
Transport will also have to play a key role, according to Conservative MP Alexander Stafford, another vice-chair of the group. “The UK is on the brink of an electric vehicle revolution and high VAT rates on utility bills are a major barrier to accelerating the transition away from petrol and diesel. Equalizing VAT to the same rate as private charging. Doing so is essential to improving access to affordable charging and decarbonizing transport.”
Green MP Caroline Lucas added that the UK needs to hone its natural credentials before the prime minister attends the COP15 biodiversity summit in Canada this December. “The UK has become one of the most depleted countries in the world. The goal must not only be credible and comprehensive, but conclusively achievable,” she said. [the Cop15] Although a summit, the UK delegation must sit at the table ready for serious action both on the national and global stage. ”
