Britain sets out net-zero strategy as it gears up to host COP26 climate talks

London

BRITISH Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday (Oct 19) set out his ambition for a green revolution that he hopes will force Western economies to kick their addiction to fossil fuels.

At the end of October, Britain hosts the COP26 United Nations climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland, which aim to strengthen global action on global warming. "With the major climate summit COP26 just around the corner, our strategy sets the example for other countries to build back greener too as we lead the charge towards global net zero," Johnson said.

Johnson, who once expressed scepticism about climate change, presented his 368-page net-zero strategy as a document that would put the UK at the vanguard of green economies. "The UK leads the world in the race to net zero," he said in the foreword to Net Zero Strategy: Build Back Greener. "The likes of China and Russia are following our lead with their own net-zero targets, as prices tumble and green tech becomes the global norm," he said.

In 2019, Britain became the first G7 member to set a net-zero emissions target for 2050, which will require drastic changes in the way Britons travel, heat their homes and consume electricity.

The net-zero strategy is essentially a series of long-term promises, some with caveats, to shift the world's fifth-largest economy towards green technologies - from moving to clean electricity "subject to security and supply" to "setting a path" to low-carbon heating in British homes.

It aims to secure 440,000 jobs and unlock £90 billion (S$167 billion) of private investment by 2030. It also aims to help Britain gain a competitive edge in low-carbon technologies such as heat pumps, electric vehicles, carbon capture and storage, and hydrogen.

The government aims to be powered entirely by clean electricity, subject to security of supply, by 2035. It aims to have 40 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power by 2030, as well as 1 GW of floating offshore wind.

Britain will also deliver 5 GW of hydrogen production capacity by 2030 while cutting its emissions from oil and gas by half.

The government aims to deploy at least 5 million tonnes of CO2 a year of engineered greenhouse gas removals by 2030.

"Current gas price spikes underline the need to get off hydrocarbons as quickly as possible, but we will manage the transition in a way that protects jobs and investment, uses existing infrastructure, maintains security of supply, and minimises environmental impacts," the strategy said. REUTERS