On the 11th of March the Climate Change Committee published a supplementary analysis for the Seventh Carbon Budget.
The report was published amid surging oil and gas prices after the US and Israel attacked Iran, which has triggered chaos on international energy markets. It tests the Committee’s cost and energy security conclusions against different scenarios.
The report finds that in all scenarios, achieving Net Zero is a more cost-effective path for the UK economy than continued reliance on fossil fuels, bringing a net benefit to society.
Key messages
- For every pound spent on Net Zero, the benefits outweigh this by 2.2 to 4.1 times.
- Avoiding climate damages is the most significant benefit of the transition. This saving is estimated between £40 billion and £130 billion in 2050.
- Energy losses are halved compared to today. Losses in a Net Zero system are valued at £30 billion per year, compared to £60 billion a year in today’s energy system.
- The transition is set to deliver far greater health and wellbeing co-benefits than costs. Cleaner air, warmer homes, more active travel and healthier diets strongly outweigh downsides like extra public transport time or potential congestion from increased EV use.
We hope you will agree that both the current pressures on global energy markets, and this report, clearly demonstrate the need for and benefit of local, UK-generated renewable energy.
