As conference season kicks off new survey suggests spotlight will be on parties' decarbonisation agendas
A third of the British public think the UK should aim to hit net zero emissions by 2025, a full quarter of a century ahead of the government's official target, a new survey by polling company Survation reveals today.
According to the survey of just over 2,000 adults, some 33 per cent of people think greenhouse gas emissions should be brought down to net zero by 2025, with a further 31 per cent backing a net zero date between 2025 and 2030.
Only two per cent of people said net zero emissions should be reached after 2050, and just seven per cent said the targets should be dropped altogether.
However, half of respondents thought it was "unlikely" the UK government will meet its 2050 emissions target, with only four per cent believing it is "very likely" to meet the goal.
Reducing the UK's emissions to net zero will require major changes to the UK's energy, transport and industrial sectors, as well as some lifestyle changes on an individual level.
Earlier this year the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) suggested people could support the net zero goal by switching to low emission cars, eating less meat, minimising flying, and using more public transport.
The Survation polling suggests the public are broadly willing to make some lifestyle changes in support of net zero emissions. Almost two thirds said they would be willing to drive less, 74 per cent said they would buy fewer clothes, 63 per cent said they would be willing to eat less meat, and 66 per cent said they would be willing to use more public transport. However, 59 per cent said they would not be willing to stop eating meat altogether and 71 per cent said they would not become vegetarian.
Experts have warned that delivering a net zero emission economby by 2025 would drastically increase the cost of decarbonisation and would result in massive disruption to every corner of the economy. The CCC argued a 2050 target date was affordable and technically feasible, while some campaigners have argued the UK should aim for a target date of 2045 or 2040 in order to maximise its chances of keeping temperature rises below 1.5C.
However, the survey results are the latest sign of public support for more radical action to tackle climate change. Official government surveys in recent months have revealed public concern over climate change and the state of the natural world is at a record high. Meanwhile, millions of people are expected to take to the streets this Friday to participate in the Climate Strike, an enlarged version of the schools strikes for climate initiated by Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg.
As the UK's leading political parties gather for conference season, their policies on climate change are expected to be in the spotlight. The Liberal Democrats are set to kick off the annual round of party conferences this week in Bournemouth with the unveiling of a radical agenda for accelerating the rate of decarbonisation.
Wera Hobhouse, Shadow Cabinet member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport, used her conference speech this weekend to warn climate change is the "biggest challenge of the future". She highlighted how the party intended to take on the challenge through plans to end the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030, 10 years ahead of the government, a ban on new airport expansion until aviation can be decarbonised, and for 80 per cent of electricity to come from renewables by 2030.
Meanwhile reports suggest the upcoming Labour Party conference is set to provide a major push for the Green New Deal campaign, with members arguing the topic should be at the top of the policy agenda.