After a busy Summer Recess spent out and about around our constituency, this week I am back in Parliament. One of the things on my mind, as with many of my fellow MPs, is about how we as a nation make it to net zero, the government commitment to ensure the UK reduces its greenhouse gas emissions by 100% from 1990 levels by 2050. If met, this would mean the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced by the UK would be equal to or less than the emissions removed by the UK from the environment.
This is an area in which I have
done extensive work since my election, as a member of the Environmental Audit
Select Committee, a cross party group of MPs whose role is to consider the
extent to which the policies and programmes of government departments and
non-departmental public bodies contribute to environmental protection and
sustainable development, and to audit their performance against sustainable
development and environmental protection targets.
There are many organisations
telling us how we can make it to net zero.
The things they list the UK and
others must do will vary, but they will all be about the update of particular
technology. Debates tend to centre on which list is the right one. On the
political spectrum, the debate has often been whether we should be doing this
at all. What few focus on is how we can really incentivise change.
Green technology or other
measure to reduce our energy use is often unaffordable and rather stressful.
“You know where you are with a boiler. Heat pumps, not.” “How do they work?”
“Do they work?” “Wouldn’t be a good idea to wait until this was a more
established and certainly cheaper technology before you made the change?” It is
assumed that kick-starting the manufacture of such products by subsiding them
will lead to reduced costs, but only real scale will do this affectively. Those
business and individuals who have taken the leap are sometimes struggling to
adapt. For example many are factoring in hours of turnaround time when someone
takes one of their electric fleet to another site, in order to recharge for the
return journey. At what point will people feel real confidence about their
ability to recharge their electric vehicle, when they need to, and fast?
It is assumed that once you
have legally binding targets agreed, or deadlines when certain technology will
no longer be on offer, the job is done. This is nonsense.
If we want to stick to the
environmental roadmap that has been set out, we need to recognise just what it
will take; huge innovation and products and services that the public will
absolutely love. Not just because they are good for the environment, but
because they make their lives easier, and reduce their costs. Take renewable
energy. It is cheaper. However, that is not reflected on your utility bills.
But it could be. Where there are potential exiting benefits to the consumer, as
your government, we must work faster to make them a reality.
We need to recognise there
needs to be better ideas and products to help drive the massive infrastructure
investments needed. How can we support the creativity required? The carve out
to ensure tidal power could be developed before it became competitive was the
right thing to do.
We need to be clearer about the
benefits to the UK economy of this work. So many ideas and inventions have the
UK as their cradle, but our manufactures never get to make or market the
resulting products. Our failure to capitalise as a nation is well known. We
must address this, not just for our own economic growth but to ensure we are
still the cradle of ideas in the future.
And we have to learn from why
previous initiatives failed to take off. One example was the Green Investment
Bank used to struggle to get Local Authorities like Cornwall Council to improve
its streetlighting or housing stock, even though they could demonstrate the
financial return in a short period of time.
In Truro and Falmouth we have
some amazing companies who are creating products, service and financing which
does really to the job we need it to. From Kensa, who fit heat pumps both right
here in Cornwall and across the UK, to Cornish Lithium, who recently received
£24million investment to kickstart their work with this vital mineral. We must
champion them and the work they are already doing.
The task for politicians like
me is not to fight about whether we should be making this transition or
listening to the hard pushed, stressed out public who haven’t the resources to
deliver it. The task for us it to enable solutions people will want to adopt.
Then sell them to the world. Parliament heads back this week following Summer
Recess and ensuring that the Government gets this crucial part of our work
right is something I will be meeting with the Prime Minister about very early
on.
As always, I am fully focused
on the job at hand and if there is ever anything at all I can do to help, then
please do not hesitate to contact me. Please get in touch with me by email at
Cherilyn.mackrory.mp@parliament.uk , or by telephone on 01872 229698. My
regular constituency advice surgeries are held in a covid-safe environment at
my office, so please do get in touch should you wish to meet me about any
matters that I can be of assistance with
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