Is the UK government on track to meet 2030 climate goals?

A hot topic in recent years, the battle against climate change. All countries around the world are setting ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse emissions to prevent the planet from warming up too much. Also the UK has set various goals to meet. The most important include:

• Increase offshore wind power generation from 10GW to 50 GW by 2030

• Increase nuclear power generation to 24GW by 2050

• Net zero emissions in 2050

• All electricity to be produced by renewable sources by 2035

All very audacious goals, but is the UK government actually on the right track to meet these goals?

Net zero emissions in 2050

The main goal of the UK government is to ensure that in the year 2050, the UK has net greenhouse emissions of 0. Which means that as a country, the amount of greenhouse gases put into the atmosphere equals the amount of greenhouse gases that is taken out of the atmosphere.

Part of the plan to reach net zero emissions in 2050  How the government exactly will accomplish phasing all gas powered stations is still to be published officially. One of the propositions included is the ambition to have all the electricity in the UK come from renewable sources in 2035. Right now, more than 40 percent of all electricity within the UK is generated through oil, coal and natural gas. With Coal and Natural Gas especially prevalent.

Will the offshore wind energy be able to power all UK homes?

Increasing the amount of energy produced through wind power could provide a viable solution for the UK. The UK at the moment is one of the world leaders in term of offshore wind energy. With right now around 10GW of energy being produced. However, around 50 GW would be needed to power all UK homes at the moment. And in 2050 it could very well be the case that there actually would be more homes to be powered and more energy required. The industry believes that reaching 50 GW should be achievable but are worried that the price will drop rapidly which would limit possible future investments in the industry.

Government support for installing heat pumps seems insufficient for now

On other areas the situation looks a bit bleaker. It is estimated that 600.000 households using heat pumps in the UK to provide for their energy needs would be a vital step in reaching the net zero emissions. However the current £450 million pound set aside by the government would only allow to give 90.000 households the necessary £5,000 grant to install the pumps. How and when those other 510,000 households would be able to receive support to install heat pumps remains unknown.

No or very little support for extra insulation measures

Another worrying development is the lack of support for extra insulation measures that would help in saving on energy bills and battling the emission output. The UK has some of the least energy efficient homes in the world. However, at the moment, around 60% of the home owners would be unable to afford extra insulation measures that would help their energy efficiency and would make reaching the net zero emission target easier to reach.

What is up ahead for consumers

Overall, the UK government has definitely set some audacious goals and targets. If they would all be realisable it would be good news for both the planet and consumers. However, for now clear guidelines on how to reach the goals remain unclear. And if we go on the current path, the UK will not be able to reach the actual targets it set for itself. Some measures, such as grants for installing heat pumps are a step in the right way but currently not enough to ensure that the goals will be achieved and that the consumers will be supported enough in this.