The poorest 40% of households are at risk of falling into “transition poverty” due to current net zero policies, research by the Young Foundation has found.
Developed alongside the University of Leeds, University of York, and Trinity College Dublin, and funded by the Nuffield Foundation, the report identifies profiles of households and communities across the UK that could see negative impacts from net zero policy.
It claims that the cost of making necessary changes in how we live, spend, travel, work, eat and have fun could put financial pressure on these demographics, as reaching the UK’s climate targets requires the participation of all households and communities.
People with vulnerabilities relating to existing debt, credit, or constrained spending power; those in social or rented housing; and communities in areas with fragile local economies, are recognised as being at risk.
With existing environmental policies not taking inequalities into account, decarbonising homes without proper support in place could push already vulnerable families and communities further into deprivation and exclusion, the report argues.
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While the report found that the public largely supports the transition, regardless of vulnerabilities and was keen to implement low-carbon changes in their home, it also found that central and local governments were not seen, or trusted, to lead the charge.
The Young Foundation director of sustainability and just transition Emily Morrison said: “Our research shows there is a will, an appetite, and even an urgency amongst the public, including the most vulnerable and poorest households, to participate in the transition to net zero. But this has to be enabled through policy and practice that works with real people’s lives, and the places they live in.”
“Current policy will result in winners and losers through net zero transition, and we cannot let it become another part of UK policy that needs to be ‘levelled up’.
“If we build participation, rather than waiting to nudge people and hoping they’ll comply, and if we remove barriers, build on community assets, and maximise local readiness, we can reconcile decarbonisation with fair and just outcomes that mean decarbonisation does not leave anyone, or any place, behind.”
In a bid to find a solution for transition poverty, researchers culminated participatory primary research, a review of poverty and social justice literature, and a review of scenarios of change towards net zero in the UK, sharing their knowledge with local government and communities in four local authorities in England to explore what incentives, levers and policies might foster inclusive participation in net zero transition.
Following on from these co-created policies, the report is now calling for an integrated system with strategic alignment between national and local government, and public service providers, the private sector, and communities.
Recommendations include applying a newly-developed framework of a person-centred, place-based approach to policy development to understand the specific barriers, removing the most significant barriers for the poorest households, and designing incentives that support households to participate in the transition.
It also encouraged local government, public-private partnerships, innovators, the voluntary and community sector, and communities to come together to enable a fair transition for all households and urged local leaders, civic actors and investors to adopt a data-driven, “place readiness” approach to accelerate a fair transition.
Updating the existing Climate Change Committee (CCC) Risk Assessment to provide a truer picture of community and household vulnerabilities and include a greater set of social, asset-based, social infrastructure measures would also make a difference to the cause.
In conclusion, the report evidences the need for a radically different policy approach that steers clear of “top down” measures and siloed government departments in favour of a more integrated system to avoid net zero transition poverty.
