Recently, the UK Climate Change Commission (CCC) released a report and said that the UK can achieve the 2050 net zero emissions target and the medium-term carbon budget target for 2030 and beyond. However, it will be difficult for the UK to make decisions, including a rapid and comprehensive reform of energy taxation methods to make electricity prices much lower than natural gas prices.
According to the British "Guardian", CCC Chairman Piers Foster said: "This is an optimistic report. As long as we take action at the policy level, it is possible to achieve the carbon budget targets for 2030 and 2050. It is crucial for the UK to step up its commitments."
Foster pointed out that the CCC has confirmed that achieving net zero emissions will not destroy the UK economy, which is contrary to some claims. He said: "We think it will be good for the economy, but not immediately. It will not be until the seventh carbon budget period (from 2038) that the economy will gain significant benefits, and this trend is expected to continue until 2050." The optimistic tone of this year's CCC progress report is in sharp contrast to recent years. Reports in the past few years have often believed that government policies are seriously off track.
The Labour Party took a series of decisions last year, including lifting the ban on onshore wind farms and expanding offshore wind power, which brought the UK closer to achieving net zero emissions. The CCC warned that although some of the previous government's policies also promoted the popularization of heat pumps and electric vehicles, progress was not fast enough.
The biggest policy gap pointed out by the CCC is related to energy pricing. The UK's high electricity costs are mainly due to its reliance on natural gas, but taxes and fees supporting renewable energy and other low-carbon projects have further pushed up bills. These taxes and fees disproportionately affect electricity bills rather than gas bills, resulting in electricity prices being artificially high and more expensive than gas.
This situation is problematic because switching from gas to electricity in areas such as heating, transport and industry is essential to achieving climate goals. It also offsets the impact of renewable energy, which should reduce electricity bills. But the cost-shifting scheme is not easy to accept: it means that the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Reeves, needs to raise taxes or shift the taxes and fees to gas bills. But if social protection measures are not established, it may put vulnerable groups at a disadvantage.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), an independent think tank, found that the UK taxes electricity more than gas, meaning that for every tonne of carbon emissions generated by a business's activities, a tax of £249 is imposed if the business consumes electricity, but only £52 if the business consumes gas.
