Achieving net zero will not require a “huge shift” in everyday lives but the politicisation of net zero will be detrimental to the economy, according to the outgoing chief executive of the UK’s Climate Change Committee.
Speaking to Sky News, Chris Stark, who is leaving his role as CCC head after six years, said net zero was now a concept which can be criticised as a slogan.
Stark rejected the idea that a net zero climate target was a “woke ideology”, an accusation that had been made by senior Conservative ministers.
But he admitted that he and green advocates had emphasised too much the shift required in people’s lives to reach net zero by 2050, the target date for ending the UK’s contribution to climate change by cutting emissions to zero overall.
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He went on to criticise the increased politicisation of net zero. He said: “Net zero is now a concept that you can attack as a slogan.”
“A bit like a container for all the culture warrior concerns that we have around some of the things that need to be done to get to net zero.”
He applauded the government for the “remarkable” progress made on decarbonising the UK economy, but said he was at odds with the prime minister, who said in a speech last year the affordability of net zero was likely to impedge its progress.
Stark said: “He framed net zero as a cost, I see it as an opportunity. If it is just about managing costs, then net zero is going to be very difficult to achieve.”
Stark added that it was important to think about costs, but warned there was a “misrepresentation” of them.
He said: “They are investments, which pay back and they take us to a more productive economy, where there’s more sustainable jobs in the future.”
