Net Zero News

Net Zero News
July 1, 2024

As the UK prepares for a general election this week, we focus on the latest climate updates from the UK and Scottish Governments. We also look at the key climate stories from across the world, including continued plans to phase out fossil fuels, preparation for COP29, new Green Claims Code regulations and SBTi changes.

LATEST UPDATES ON THE UK GOVERNMENT’S CLIMATE PLANS

Climate change remains a key issue ahead of the UK General Election on 4th July.

Following Rishi Sunak’s announcement of a general election on 4th July, there has been great emphasis on the central role that climate change, nature and the transition to net-zero will play in political campaigning across the UK.
In reaction to the news, environmental groups including Friends of the Earth, Climate Group and the UK Green Building Council have stressed that this election could either ‘make or break’ the UK’s net-zero future.
The UK has just under six years left to meet its 2030 climate and nature targets, including reducing carbon emissions by 68% compared to pre-industrial levels and halting nature loss. Commitment from all parties in this general election is therefore expected to be crucial for achieving these legally binding goals. Read More

The windfall tax is extended by one year and plans for zonal electricity pricing are revealed, while the government’s Energy Security Strategy is criticised for its policy gaps and project delays.

The UK Government has announced that the windfall tax will be extended by one year, due to expectations that energy prices will remain higher for longer. The 35% surcharge on profits from oil and gas companies had been scheduled to end in March 2028, but will now continue until March 2029. Read More
Plans to introduce zonal pricing in the UK have also been announced by the government, where electricity costs will be cheaper for those who live near renewable energy projects. The proposed measures have been set out to incentivise the developers of wind farms, solar arrays and power plants in setting up their sites nearer to towns and cities across the UK, to better match energy supply and demand. Read More
The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) has accused the UK Government of ‘going backwards’ on its Energy Security Strategy over the past two years, highlighting that progress has only been made on two of its ten key aims. Analysis from the ECIU has revealed policy gaps and project delays in areas including home energy efficiency, heat pumps and reducing electricity. Read More
Research from the National Audit Office has found that the UK Government’s heat pump strategy is behind schedule. The number of heat pump installations by December 2023 was less than half of planned projections, with investment being hampered by uncertainty around the role of hydrogen in home heating and the need for more effective planning. This follows news from earlier this year that the UK Government is set to axe its heat pump targets. Read More
The Clean Heat Market Mechanism has also been delayed until April 2025, despite being due to launch in April this year. Set out by the UK Government, the mandate would require heating system manufacturers to move towards heat pumps but has now been put on hold due to strong pushback from the gas boiler industry and some MPs. Read More

The UK Government faces further legal challenges around its National Climate Adaptation plan, while its Climate Action Plan has been ruled unlawful for the second time.

The High Court has mandated a judicial review of the UK Government’s national climate adaptation plan, in response to a legal challenge filed by Friends of the Earth and two individual campaigners, who cited their personal experiences of the climate crisis’s impacts in their local areas. The High Court has emphasised that the issues raised by the claimants are of “considerable public importance”. The hearing is due to take place later this month. Read More
The Climate Change Committee’s adaptation panel and the National Infrastructure Commission have warned that the UK “lacks the resilience” to confront the intensifying impacts of climate change over the coming years. They stressed that areas such as agriculture, supply chains, power systems and public health are security risks, and that a plan is urgently needed to show what a well-adapted UK would look like. Read More
The UK Government’s Climate Action Plan has been ruled unlawful for the second time by the High Court, due to a lack of evidence that there are sufficient policies in place to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A revised plan is expected to be drawn up by the UK’s energy secretary, Claire Coutinho, within the next 12 months. Read More

SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT SCRAPS NEAR-TERM CLIMATE TARGETS

The Scottish Government has faced criticism over the scrapping of its flagship target to reduce emissions by 75% by 2030.

The Scottish Government announced in April that it will scrap its target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2030. The governments annual and interim targets will also be discarded and replaced with a system that measures emissions every five years. This will involve the introduction of new legislation similar to the carbon budgets used by the UK and Welsh governments. Their long-term goal to reach net zero by 2045 however remains intact. Read More
The announcement was met with heavy criticism from environmental groups, with Friends of the Earth branding it “the worst environmental decision in the history of the Scottish Parliament” while Oxfam Scotland deemed it “an acute global embarrassment”. Read More
Professor Piers Forster, the interim chairman of the Climate Change Committee has warned that the Scottish Government will need to act quickly to implement their new legal framework and “step-up in delivery”. He cited the roll-out of public electric vehicle charging points, doubling onshore wind capacity, woodland creation and peatland restoration as key areas where pace and progress need to significantly increase. Read More
Net Zero Secretary Mairi McAllan attributed the hindrance of the Scottish Government’s progress in meeting its climate targets to the UK Government’s reversal of net-zero commitments, stringent budget constraints and the limitations posed by devolution. She also emphasised that any changes would restate the Scottish Government’s overall goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2045. Read More

GLOBAL NEWS ON THE PHASEOUT OF FOSSIL FUELS

A new timeline to phase out coal-fired power plants has been declared by G7 countries, while a report finds that the global energy demand is still being largely met by fossil fuels. Further research reveals that the largest global oil and gas companies have no plans to decrease fossil fuel production, while the UN Chief calls for a ban on fossil fuel advertising worldwide.

G7 countries have declared a new timeline to phase out coal-fired power plants by 2035, in a commitment to follow up from the goals agreed at COP28 to address the climate crisis. However, the plans have been criticised for being ‘too late’ and will allow nations to continue using coal for electricity generation, provided that the power plants are equipped with carbon capture technology to prevent emissions from being released into the atmosphere. Read More
Carbon Tracker have recently conducted an analysis of 25 of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, to determine if their project sanctions and strategic plans are aligned with the need to limit global heating and transition to renewable energy. The findings revealed that none of the firms are planning to decrease fossil fuel production and diversify their portfolios to reflect these goals. Read More
New research from REN21, which has been tracking renewable energy targets, has found that the growth in renewable energy worldwide has been hindered by a lack of finance, policy and infrastructure issues. While renewable energy usage has risen by 58% over the last decade, energy demand has increased by 16% and has largely been met by fossil fuels. According to the research, fossil fuels accounted for around 65% of energy consumption growth between 2012 and 2022. Read More
The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called for a global ban on fossil fuel advertising, as part of a major speech in New York where he stressed new scientific warnings of global heating. Citing fossil fuel companies as “the godfathers of climate chaos”, Guterres urged the advertising and media industries to “stop acting as enablers to planetary destruction” emphasising that the world now faces “climate crunch time”. Read More

COP29 PLANNING AND PROGRESS

The COP29 Climate Plan is revealed while the UNFCCC and IEA collaborate to track energy commitments made at COP28.

COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev has introduced his plan for this year’s UN climate conference, which is structured around the two pillars of planning and finance. He has also called for world leaders and policymakers to deliver on their previous commitments and focus on keeping the 1.5C target alive. Read More
The UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) and the IEA (International Energy Agency) have joined forces to drive progress on the energy commitments made at the COP28 climate summit. Under the new phase of cooperation, the UNFCCC and IEA will focus on three key areas – tracking and reporting on the energy-related outcomes of the first Global Stocktake at COP28, building consensus on actions to deliver 1.5C aligned energy transitions and supporting the next round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. Read More

SBTI NEWS

The SBTi has published two new reports which focus on beyond value chain mitigation, as well as updated guidance for the automotive sector on setting credible climate targets.

The Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) has released two new reports focusing on beyond value chain mitigation (BVCM) – one of the four SBTi pillars. Each of the reports have been designed to guide companies in accelerating net zero efforts beyond their Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions through actions including investment in conservation and carbon removal as well as engagement with stakeholders outside of the private sector. Read More
Updated guidance has also been released by the SBTi on how the automotive sector can set credible climate targets in line with 1.5C, with a specific focus on the emissions generated during driving. The SBTi has confirmed that companies wishing to align with its forthcoming target-setting standard for the automotive sector will need to pledge to end petrol and diesel vehicle sales by 2035 in developed nations and 2040 globally. Read More

239 businesses have been marked as having their commitment removed by the SBTi, while Sainsbury’s sets more ambitious targets and further companies have their SBTi targets validated.

The SBTi has marked 239 companies as having their ‘Commitment Removed’ after they have failed to follow through in setting verified climate targets. This includes Yum Brands (the parent company of Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell), as well as Diageo, Microsoft, Unilever, Proctor & Gamble and Marks & Spencer. Research conducted by the SBTi found that over half of participating companies identified Scope 3 emissions as a major barrier to setting net zero targets, as well as uncertainties about future technologies. Read More
Sainsbury’s has recently shared more ambitious new targets for reducing their emissions, which have been verified by the SBTi. One of the first UK retailers to set SBTi validated targets in 2020, Sainsbury’s has committed to reduce its absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 68%, increasing its previous target of 50%. The company has also revised its Scope 3 emissions reduction target to 30% by 2030. Read More
Other companies which have recently announced that their SBTi targets have been validated include Howdens, ITV, Co-op, New Look and Tate & Lyle. Global food and beverage supplier Tate & Lyle aims to cut absolute Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions by 38% by 2028, and has also pledged to ensure zero deforestation across its primary deforestation linked commodities by the end of 2025. Read More

Controversy has sparked over the SBTI’s decision to accept ‘environmental attribute certificates’ as a way to abate Scope 3 emissions.

The SBTi board has announced that it will allow companies to use ‘environmental attribute certificates’ to abate certain Scope 3 emissions. These are a category of carbon accounting mechanisms that include carbon offsets and renewable energy certificates, which SBTi trustees have said will “function as an additional tool to tackle climate change”. Read More
This is a shift away from the SBTi’s stance of requiring proposed emission cuts to be directly tied to a company’s operation or supply chain partners. As a result, the move has been widely condemned, with non-profit Carbon Market Watch calling it a “blow to the SBTi’s credibility”. Read More
On the other hand, the announcement was welcomed by industry stakeholders and carbon market proponents, who commented that the move has been seen as a significant step forward towards unlocking more finance for carbon projects and therefore propelling climate action. Read More
Staff at the SBTi have revolted against the decision, accusing their leadership of “acting without a sound scientific base” and calling for the global non-profits chief executive to resign. A group of technical advisors (who represent approximately a fifth of the SBTi’s Technical Advisory Group) have also requested an immediate retraction of the decision over fears that companies will use the offsets for greenwashing. Read More
In response, the SBTi board stated that no standards had yet been changed and that ‘guardrails’ alongside other details on acceptable credits are due to be announced in July. The Board noted that “any changes to the group’s standards would follow the usual process that includes research and drafting stages as well as a public consultation, and review and approval by the group’s technical council”. Read More

EU & UK GREEN CLAIMS CODE UPDATES

New greenwashing regulations have been approved by the European Parliament while ‘green’ fashion claims are scrutinised by the Competition and Markets Authority.

The European Parliament has voted to approve a series of rules aimed at protecting consumers from greenwashing or misleading environmental claims by companies. Under the new rules, companies will be required to submit product marketing claims such as ‘biodegradable’ or ‘less polluting’ before being allowed to use them in their public facing communications. The new regulations will also see penalties for companies that break the rules, including exclusions from public procurements and fines of at least 4% of annual revenue. Read More
– Following an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) into the use of ‘green’ fashion claims by ASOS, Boohoo and George at Asda, the three fashion retailers have now signed formal agreements to use only accurate and clear green claims. The CMA has also issued an open letter to other fashion retailers, advising them to review their green claims. Read More
The British Retail Consortium has warned that the CMA’s approach to these ‘green’ fashion claims could inadvertently hamper retailers’ sustainability efforts, as businesses “might retract from showcasing their sustainability achievements if faced with harsh regulatory sanctions”. However, the CMA highlighted that it is committed to combatting greenwashing and ensuring authenticity in environmental claims. Read More

OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION

Uber is adding a new feature to its app which will enable riders to track the carbon emissions of their journeys, in a move to encourage users to select zero-emission vehicles and measure their CO2 savings. The update will be rolled out globally as part of the company’s goal to reach net zero by 2040. Read More
The British Standards Institution (BSI) has revealed an updated version of its framework which aims to enhance social and environmental sustainability at events. The latest guidance includes standards for emerging challenges across areas such as climate change and supply chain measures within the events industry. Read More
– ExCel London, the city’s largest exhibition and conference centre, is set to launch ‘carbon labelling’ on its food menus, which will provide information on the emissions data of each dish. The initiative aims to help encourage changes in food choices amongst visitors and event hosts, whilst assisting the design of lower carbon recipes. Read More
– The City of Edinburgh Council is set to ban out-of-home advertising for fossil fuel companies and high-emission forms of travel. The ban would include adverts for airlines, airports and cruise holidays and any associated ‘sub-brands’ lobbying for the fossil fuel sector. It is due to take effect as soon as possible and will apply to all adverts which could be installed on assets owned by the council. Read More

Net Zero News is compiled by Material
To talk to any of our team, get in touch at letstalk@wearematerial.co.uk