THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT GREEN
economy could be turbocharged out of the pandemic by the Green Industrial Revolution called for by Boris Johnson.
Late last year he predicted 250,000 jobs would be created via renewable energy, electric cars, home insulation and tree planting.
Britain is also the first major economy to make a legal commitment to Net Zero: eliminating greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
But headline-grabbing pledges aren’t always fulfilled. We take a look at Britain’s progress so far – and what is left to do.
AIR POLLUTION
FOUR years ago air pollution was linked to 40,000 premature deaths every year.
But last year legal air pollution limits were still being broken in 75 per cent of UK reporting zones, according to official figures.
Also last year nine-year-old asthma sufferer Ella Kissi-Debrah, of South London, became the first person in the world whose death certificate gave air pollution as a cause. Her mum Rosamund wants the UK to observe-World Health Organisation rules.
PLASTIC
ABOUT eight million tonnes of plastic enter the world’s oceans every year. By 2050 plastic in the sea will weigh more than its fish, one study has predicted.
Since 2015 Britain has had a 5p charge for plastic bags at major retailers, which has seen the number issued plunge by 95 per cent from 7.64 billion to 226 million a year.
This spring the charge will rise to 10p and be extended to all retailers.The Government is also banning straws, stirrers and cotton buds made of plastic.
But huge volumes of plastic packaging, disposable coffee cups and plastic bottles are still thrown away and not recycled.
GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
BRITAIN has pledged to end its contribution to global warming by 2050 by cleaning up its act and offsetting any remaining emissions through initiatives such as tree planting or capturing it and storing it in, say, disused North Sea gas fields.
So far it has nearly halved emissions, from 800 million tonnes of the main gas, carbon dioxide (CO2), in 1990 to 435 million tons in 2019. This has been done by switching to renewable energy and fuel-efficient vehicles.
But the easiest cuts have already been made so meeting the target will require a huge effort. By 2030 no new cars powered by fossil fuels will be sold here. But there needs to be a national programme of insulating homes.
ELECTRICITY GENERATION
THE UK has committed to using enough offshore wind to power every home in the land from 2030. This will involve building giant wind farms far out at sea where the wind is strongest. But this means quadrupling curBRITAIN’S
rent offshore wind-power capacity or installing one turbine each weekday for nine years.
This is part of a plan to reduce emissions by at least 68 per cent by 2030 compared to 1990. In 1990 fossil fuels accounted for 79 per cent of UK electricity. In 2019, 37 per cent came from renewable sources.
NATURE
FIFTEEN per cent of our species are threatened with extinction due to farm management, invasive species and pollution.
Meanwhile fish stocks are low following decades of overfishing under the EU.
Mr Johnson has pledged to protect 30 per cent of the UK’s land for nature by 2030.
FARMING
FOR decades Britain’s farms operated under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy, which encouraged intensive farming. Brexit gives us the chance to rebalance the needs of consumers with those of the environment. There is also pressure for Britons to eat less meat, with The Vegetarian Society saying a veggie diet means 2.5 times fewer carbon emissions.
FAST FASHION
NOTHING symbolises our throwaway culture more than the rapid turnover of cheap clothes. Experts say it contributes more to climate change than international aviation and shipping combined. And less than one per cent of discarded clothing is recycled into new materials.
RECYCLING
BRITAIN recycles 45 per cent of domestic waste, up from 11 per cent 20 years ago. But it is below the EU target of 50 per cent by last year. However, the UK is now committed to recycling 65 per cent by 2035.