It lays out the Committee's assessment of priorities for the incoming government to focus on in order to reduce UK emissions and achieve the net zero target set earlier this year, as well as strategies to deal with the impacts of climate change already being felt.With the UK playing a leading role in hosting COP 26 in Glasgow in November 2020, action taken by the UK in the next 6-12 months will set the tone and presents an opportunity for the UK to be seen to lead the way on climate action.Stressing that climate action cannot be led by one just government department, the letter highlights key priority areas for the UK government to cut emissions: Buildings: An ambitious and properly funded strategy for entirely removing fossil fuels from the UK’s building stock, with action beginning immediately and standards that set a clear path for the longer-term Transport: Rapid progress in the implementation of the manifesto commitment to consult on an earlier phase-out of petrol and diesel cars, ideally by 2030. Electricity: Delivering on the manifesto commitment for 40GW of offshore wind by 2030 – and ensuring that any market reforms are complementary to the Net Zero goal. Industry: Developing an ongoing mechanism to pay for emissions reductions from industry and an approach to delivering hydrogen and CCS infrastructure, alongside your promised capital support. Land use and agriculture: Introducing a world-leading package through the Agriculture and Environment Bills to cut emissions from agriculture and to pay for the 30,000 hectares (75,000 acres) of annual tree planting promised in the manifesto.A number of the policy areas covered in the letter, such as buildings and industry, align closely with key areas of work for the ADE. Decentralised energy, energy efficiency and flexibility will play a vital role in the energy transition, and have the potential to kick-start local economic growth. 2020 must be the the year of climate action, and we bring everyone along with us on the journey to a low carbon future. Read the letter from the CCC here.
