Stark said that switching to EVs, heat pumps, and transitioning to work in greener sectors can have huge benefits for people as well as for the environment, such as the health benefits of reducing air pollution. However, he emphasised that this transition must be just, with support for the public to adapt.
The Government is expected to produce the details of its net-zero strategy, detailing how it will cut emissions to zero overall by 2050, before the Cop26 climate talks hosted by the UK in Glasgow. Stark said it was right to set emissions-cutting targets in line with the Paris Agreement – which aims to limit warming to 1.5°C – including net-zero by 2050 and 68 per cent cuts by 2030.
“It is exactly what we need to have the credibility to host those talks and to demand the same of others,” said Stark.
However, he warned that delivery on some targets is missing and that the strategy needed policies for this decade in areas the UK is falling behind, such...