Press Story

The IPPR think tank has responded to the Climate Change Committee (CCC) progress report to Parliament, to be released on Wednesday.

Luke Murphy, head of the IPPR’s Fair Transition Unit and associate director for energy and climate at the think tank, said:

"This damning report makes clear that the UK is failing to make sufficient progress towards its legally binding climate targets at home and has abandoned its position of climate leadership abroad.

"Despite limited progress in some areas, across a whole range of sectors from transport to energy, homes to industry, and agriculture and land, there remains a lack of coherent policy and tangible delivery. The government's plans operate on the basis of a 'wing and a prayer', placing faith in technological solutions that have not been delivered at scale.

"The impacts of these failures go well beyond the environmental. Our energy bills are higher, we're less energy secure, and we're failing to reap the economic benefits of the transition to net zero. In the global green race, the UK is still stuck in the changing room complaining to the referee about the boots the other runners are wearing.

"By failing to act now, the government is multiplying the problem future leaders will face and leaving an even more damaged environment and economy for younger and future generations."

On the CCC's transport findings, Stephen Frost, principal research fellow in the fair transition unit at IPPR, said:

"This report shows the government’s plans for decarbonising transport are in reverse gear. The lack of ambition in making it easier for people to walk, cycle, wheel or use public transport misses the opportunity to improve quality of life for people across the UK as well as putting delivery of net zero at risk.

"To begin to address this, the government must urgently reverse cuts to the active travel budget and commit transformative funding to ‘levelling up’ public transport outside of London.

"The CCC is right to recommend that the UK follow the Welsh government’s leadership and convene an independent panel to review all road-building projects to ensure alignment with environmental goals. The government should also be leading a national debate on motoring taxation, with the public provided a key role in deciding its future."

ENDS

Luke Murphy is available for interview

CONTACT

David Wastell, director of news and communications: 07921 403651 d.wastell@ippr.org

Liam Evans, Senior Digital and Media Officer: 07419 365334 l.evans@ippr.org

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. IPPR has researched and reported on the need to transition to net zero over the past five years. Key publications include:

- IPPR’s Environmental Justice Commission Report (2021):
https://www.ippr.org/files/publications/EJC%20final%20report%20July%2021/fairness-and-opportunity-part2.pdf
- Winning the global green race: Lessons for the UK from the US' Inflation Reduction Act, IPPR:
http://www.ippr.org/research/publications/winning-the-global-green-race
- All aboard: A plan for fairly decarbonising how people travel
https://www.ippr.org/research/publications/all-aboard
- Planning for net zero and nature: A better, greener planning system that empowers local places:
https://www.ippr.org/research/publications/planning-for-net-zero-and-nature

2. IPPR is the UK’s pre-eminent progressive think tank. With more than 40 staff in offices in London, Manchester, Newcastle, and Edinburgh, IPPR is Britain’s only national think tank with a truly national presence. www.ippr.org