The House of Commons Select Committee for Energy Security and Net Zero (ESNZ) will hear evidence tomorrow from the leadership of the UK’s Climate Change Committee (CCC) as part of its ongoing inquiry into the Work of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
On Wednesday starting at 3pm the ESNZC will hear from the leadership of the UK’s Climate Change Committee. This will be the first appearance of the CCC’s new Chief Executive, Emma Pinchbeck, appointed in November after leading Energy UK, the energy trade body. The CCC is the independent statutory body that provides the Government and Parliament with climate advice.
The ESNZ Committee scrutinises the policy, spending and administration of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and its public bodies, including Ofgem and the CCC.
Around the time of her appointment, the CCC published its latest advice on the UK’s “nationally determined contribution” to reducing carbon emissions under the international Paris Agreement, recommending that this be increased to a target of 81% reduction by 2035, from 1990 levels.
The new target was publicly adopted by the UK at COP29 and will inform the UK’s next carbon budget expected early this year.
However, announcing the evidence session, the ESNZC are pointing out that the CCC’s latest annual update to Parliament on reducing emissions, showed that ‘credible plans’ - funded and with a delivery timeline in place - exist for only 32% of required emissions reductions to meet the 2030 NDC target. Plans for 14% of the required emissions reductions are either completely missing or inadequate.
With no ‘credible plans’ in place for much of UK emissions reductions targets, concern about “greenwashing” and a growing public “greenlash” against the policies necessary to halt global warming, the Committee will be looking to hear what the CCC tell it about staying on track, across Government, to reach Net Zero - and what actions does DESNZ in particular need to be taking now.
Emma Pinchbeck, CEO at the CCC and Dr Emily Nurse, Head of Net Zero at the CCC will appear before the House of Commons ESNZ Committee tomorrow afternoon – the meeting will start at 3.00pm.
The following week Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP Secretary of State at Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is also due to appear before the ESNZ Committee on Wednesday 15th January.
Click here to watch the ESNZ Committee meeting live on the Parliamentary TV channel.
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