Great Britain Leading The Way To Carbon Zero
For a long time, the UK government was criticised by climate advisers for having no viable plan to achieve the commitment of “net-zero” emissions by 2050.
However, times are changing, and the UK has ramped up the race to net-zero ahead of hosting the UN climate change conference, COP 26, in November.
Last week, it was announced that coal power was finally to be consigned to history in 2024, one year earlier than planned. There are just three operational coal power plants in the UK and all are expected to close by October 2024. The new commitment outlaws the use of coal power that lacks the technology to capture and bury the carbon dioxide emissions.
Ministers hope the move will persuade other nations to also call time on the dirtiest fossil fuel at the Cop26 summit — widely viewed as the last chance for the world to prevent a climate emergency.
Alok Sharma, the Cop26 president, said: “The next decade will be make, or break, for our planet, and the most powerful way we can make a difference is to end our reliance on coal… Ahead of Cop26, I hope the UK’s decisive step towards a cleaner, greener future sends a clear signal to friends around the world that clean power is the way forward.”
Coal’s contribution to the UK’s energy mix has already plunged from around 40% less than a decade ago to just 1.8% last year, with more than a 40% of our power now coming from renewable sources.
Elimating coal is the end of the era that dates back to the world’s first coal power plant, on Holborn Viaduct in London, which opened during the industrial revolution in 1882.
However, it isn’t just coal where the UK is pioneering a cleaner future. The UK has also committed to banning new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 and is accelerating plans to achieve this target.
The UK is home to one of the biggest car and commercial vehicle manufacturing bases in the world.
Just last week, Japanese firm Nissan announced their £1bn investment into a UK-based manufacturing plant for creating next-generation electric vehicles.
The project has been launched by Nissan and partners Envision AESC, a global player in battery technology, along with financial support from Sunderland City Council and the British Government.
Nissan EV36Zero brings together electric vehicles, renewable energy and battery production to create what the company describes as “a world-first EV manufacturing ecosystem” The plant is expected to generate more than 1,600 jobs with an extra 4,500 jobs created indirectly in the supply chain.
The future of Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port car plant is also set to be secured through the production of a new electric vehicle, with an announcement possibly as soon as next week.
Michael Straughan, the chief operating officer of Aston Martin Lagonda, also announced that two sites had been identified for battery-making capability in Blyth and Coventry.
In addition to boosting UK EV manufacturing, the government is looking at increasing car-related costs as part of the path toward net-zero. Plans suggest that the average cost of using a petrol car could rise by more than £100 per year as soon as 2022.
Even with the UK changing gears like this, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Minister for Business, Energy and Clean Growth, warned there is still “much to do” in the transport sector to hit net-zero by 2050.
Watch this space for more updates!
