Net Zero News

Net Zero News
September 1, 2024

In our latest edition of Net Zero News, we bring you environmental policy updates from the new UK Government following the general election, including a commitment to decarbonise the electricity grid by 2030, the launch of Great British Energy and plans to fast-track the implementation of a Deposit Return Scheme. We also cover recent updates from the SBTi, including further reaction to their decision to accept ‘environmental attribute certificates’ as a way to abate Scope 3 emissions, followed by the latest headlines relating to green claims.

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY UPDATES FOLLOWING UK GENERAL ELECTION

With the election of a new Labour Government, plans have been announced in relation to new environmental policies in the UK, including the proposed launch of Great British Energy – a publicly owned green power company to be headquartered in Scotland.

Earlier this year, Labour stated in their manifesto that they are committed to achieving the existing 2050 Net Zero target set for the UK. Analysis by Greenpeace UK and Friends of the Earth found that while Labour scored higher for their climate plans in their manifesto compared to other parties, it was noted that they need to do more to achieve this Net Zero target, including improving energy efficiency and increasing the speed of the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Read More
Following the UK’s General Election in July, Labour announced that it will prioritise Britain’s energy transition as a key part of its industrial and foreign strategy. The new Labour Government has committed to decarbonising the electricity grid by 2030, by supporting both large- and small-scale nuclear projects, increasing the nation’s onshore and offshore wind capacity, as well as trebling solar capacity. It has also agreed to work closely with the EU on climate change and Europe’s clean energy transition. Read More
As part of this commitment, Labour has proposed the launch of Great British Energy (GB Energy). This will be a publicly owned energy company designed to drive clean energy deployment, boost energy independence and create new jobs across the country. Headquartered in Scotland, GB Energy will include a phased transition for the North Sea fossil fuel industry and is intended to be operational within months. Read More
A record-breaking £1.5 billion budget has been announced by the UK Government for the next renewable energy auction, which allows developers to bid for funding to deliver new renewable energy projects across Britain. This substantial increase represents a boost of more than 50% over previous budgets. Read More
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has also confirmed that it is currently reviewing packaging reforms and is aiming to fast-track the launch of a Deposit Return Scheme in the UK before October 2027. Under the scheme, customers will be required to pay a small deposit when purchasing drinks, which will be refunded to them when they return the packaging for recycling via an approved method (i.e. through supermarket counters or reverse vending machines). Read More

FURTHER ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS FROM THE UK

The Wildlife Countryside Link Group has initiated legal proceedings against the new government, while the Climate Change Committee’s annual progress report is presented to parliament and the British Standards Institution begins development of a new standard for net-zero targets.

Legal proceedings have been initiated by the Wildlife and Countryside Link Group under the Environment Act, to ensure that the new government will show how they will halt the decline of wildlife in the UK by 2030 and meet key targets by 2042 on biodiversity, water quality, air pollution and waste reduction. The group is formed of a coalition of more than 80 nature conservation groups, including the National Trust, the RSPB and Wildlife Trusts across the UK. Read More
The Climate Change Committee’s annual progress report on the UK’s net-zero transition was presented in July to the UK Parliament. The report noted that only a third of the emissions reductions required for the UK to achieve its 2030 targets are backed with credible policies, and that far more rapid and complex work is needed. The report contains an array of recommendations for decarbonisation across different industries and advises that the government must “urgently undo the damage to net zero progress from Rishi Sunak’s policy reversals”. Read More
The British Standards Institution (BSI) has started an 18-month process to develop a new, independently verifiable standard to assure the credibility of net-zero targets from businesses and other organisations. The standard is expected to replace BSI’s existing ISO Net Zero Guidelines, with its launch planned for COP30 in Brazil next year. Read More

CONTROVERSY CONTINUES AT THE SBTI

In our last edition, we reported the SBTI’s plans to accept ‘environmental attribute certificates’ as a way to abate Scope 3 emissions. Controversy has continued to generate over this announcement, with the majority of reactions criticising the proposal.

A joint statement has been issued by more than 80 non-profits in response to the SBTi’s announcement, which calls for voluntary and regulatory frameworks on climate transition planning to exclude offsetting. Signatories of the letter include Amnesty International, Christian Aid, ClientEarth, Friends of the Earth Europe, Greenpeace and Oxfam among others. Read More
A former SBTi employee has filed a complaint with the Charity Commission (Britain’s charity regulator), accusing the SBTi of acting against its mission and stating that the board of trustees acted ‘recklessly’ in announcing their plans to allow businesses to use carbon credits in their targets. Read More
Fashion retailer H&M has been one of the first major firms to directly criticise the SBTi over their decision, arguing that “the focus should be on absolute emissions reduction within corporate value chains” and that allowing this would “deter the investments and innovation we need to achieve systemic change”. Read More
However, six environmental NGOs, including UK based Fauna & Flora, have said that they would support the proposal, provided that certain criteria are met. This includes the use of high-quality credits, the prioritisation of direct abatement of operational and value chain emissions, as well as ensuring that credits used to ‘net’ Scope 3 emissions result in near-term climate impacts. Read More
WWF has also published a response to the controversy, arguing that climate action should “primarily focus on in-value-chain emission reductions and transforming sectors and markets”. Although WWF has agreed that the announcement has impacted the credibility of the SBTi, it has stated that it does support the use of some market mechanisms including environmental attribute certificates and carbon credits within the value chain, as long as appropriate safeguards are in place. However, WWF has also made clear that it does not support the use of offsets to meet company climate targets, except for residual emissions. Read More

OTHER SBTI UPDATES

The CEO of the SBTi steps down while analysis into the effectiveness of carbon credits is revealed. The SBTi has also began the drafting phase for a new Oil and Gas Standard, while a new report reveals the number of global companies with science-based targets has continued to rise.

In July, it was announced that the CEO of the SBTi, Luiz Amaral, was stepping down from his role due to personal reasons. The position has been taken over in the interim by the non-profit’s Chief Legal Officer, Susan Jenny Ehr, while the board seeks a replacement. Read More
After calling on organisations to submit evidence last year, the SBTi has recently conducted an analysis into the effectiveness of carbon credits, which found that “various types of carbon credits are ineffective in delivering their intended mitigation outcome”. While the SBTi has highlighted that there are “clear risks” for companies using carbon credits to offset emissions, they have stated that “high-quality, high-impact certificates” from trusted sources could be used as an interim solution for scenarios where there are barriers to high supply chain traceability. Read More
The SBTi has concluded that further research is needed before a firm decision can be made on whether businesses can use carbon credits as a way of abating their Scope 3 emissions. It also confirmed that its draft Corporate Net-Zero Standard will be released towards the end of this year for public consultation, which will include further details on the use of environmental energy certificates and carbon credits. The final version is due to be published in 2025. Read More
According to the SBTi’s Monitoring Report 2023, the number of companies with science-based targets is continuing to increase, with a growth of 102% last year alone. The report reveals that Japan has become the world leader for companies with science-based targets, with the most impressive proportional growth coming from India. Read More
The SBTi has entered the drafting phase for an Oil and Gas Standard, which will offer a structured approach to help oil and gas companies navigate the transition to net-zero and set targets that align with science-based climate goals. The development of the Oil and Gas Standard is supported by an Expert Advisory Group comprising of technical experts from various organisations, who have provided insights to ensure the standards are scientifically sound and effective. Once this phase has been completed, a public consultation draft will be released. Read More
The BBC’s emissions reduction goals have recently been verified by the SBTi, after they began the verification process in late 2022. As part of this, the broadcaster has committed to reduce its absolute emissions by 90% by 2050, compared to their baseline year of 2019. Read More

GREEN CLAIMS

Worcester Bosch is investigated by the Competition and Markets Authority over misleading hydrogen claims, while the Advertising Standards Authority has upheld complaints relating to Virgin Atlantic’s ‘100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel’ flight.

Worcester Bosch has agreed to withdraw or change its marketing materials following an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), after describing its boilers as ‘hydrogen-blend ready’ and implying that that their products are ‘unique’ because they can run on a blend of up to 20% hydrogen. The CMA concluded that this was an elaborated claim which was likely to mislead customers, since most modern boilers can run on a blend of up to 20% hydrogen. Read More
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld complaints relating to a radio advertisement broadcast before Virgin Atlantic’s ‘100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel’ (SAF) flight from London to New York last November. Complainants said that the claim “gave a misleading impression of the fuel’s environmental impact” and challenged “whether it could be substantiated”. Despite ‘SAF’ being a globally used term by industry and governments for fossil-alternative aviation fuels that adhere to specific sustainability criteria, the ASA concluded that the unqualified claim of ‘100% sustainable aviation fuel’ was misleading to customers. Read More

OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS

The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) has recently stated that a third of all renewable energy carbon credit projects have failed to meet the ‘high integrity’ standards required to use their Core Carbon Principles (CCP) label. The CCP was launched earlier this year to help buyers of credits to differentiate between ‘investment grade’ credits which deliver genuine emissions reductions, and ‘junk’ credits. The ICVCM has said that they will review more rigorous renewable energy methodologies once these have been developed. Read More
A study conducted by the International Institute for Sustainable Development and researchers from the University College London (UCL) has found that no new fossil fuel projects are required in the transition to net zero by 2050, as existing fossil fuel projects and the continued growth of renewable energy are sufficient to meet anticipated global energy demands during this period. The researchers have subsequently called on governments across the world to stop issuing new oil, gas and coal licenses. Read More
Ahead of the UN Summit for the Future in New York this month, a letter has been published by a group of 77 former world leaders and Nobel laureates to urge governments to address the issue of fossil fuels as part of the summit agenda. The signatories argue that “failing to address fossil fuel dependence ignores a significant global challenge and could undermine the Summit’s goals”, whilst emphasising the need for international cooperation to phase out fossil fuels. Read More

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