Britain may need to cut meat and dairy consumption to meet 2040 climate goals
Brits must eat 25 percent less meat and cut dairy consumption by a fifth to meet climate change goals, an environmental body has advised.
Households would also have to replace boilers with heat pumps and switch to driving electric cars to meet the Energy Secretary’s goal of cutting carbon emissions by 87 percent by 2040.
Brits would need to eat 25 percent less meat, while dairy consumption would need to drop by 20 percent.
The legally binding target, adopted on the recommendation of the Climate Change Committee (CCC), is one of the most ambitious in the world, despite Britain being responsible for less than one percent of global emissions.
The CCC has a roadmap setting out how the target could be reached, which includes recommendations on reducing dairy and meat consumption.
Labour has not detailed exactly how the target will be reached, but it will tie the hands of future governments.
This comes amid mounting backlash to climate policies, with Reform and the Conservatives suggesting they would seek to abolish Net Zero if they came into power.
A Labour source said: "This is a fight we’re happy to have, and the politics is strong for Labour.
"Business wants certainty, public polling remains strong on climate action and long-term benefits outweigh any costs.
"Fundamentally, this is about energy security, investment, and Britain’s future competitiveness."
The CCC, which provided a roadmap setting out how the target could be reached, said meat consumption would need to drop by a quarter by 2040 from 2019 levels, while dairy should fall by 20 percent.
More families would also need to start driving electric cars and adopt heat pumps, despite being expensive to set up, the committee said.
The committee’s Carbon Budget for 2038-42 places a legally binding cap on emissions over the five-year period.
Legislation is expected imminently and MPs are due to vote on the measures before the end of the month.
However, the shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho warned the plans would spell economic disaster.
She accused Labour of "not putting the national interest first".
The Conservative MP said: “The fact that in the dying days of this Labour government they will attempt to force through a new Net Zero target that will make us weaker, poorer and send everyone’s energy bills even higher shows that they are not putting the national interest first.
“We have had a former Prime Minister and current leadership contender say we need to look again at what our Net Zero targets are doing to the economy and we need to drill in the North Sea.
“The best thing for our economy, for growth, and for cutting emissions, is to make electricity cheap.”
Politics Editor
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
