Andrew Jones writes a monthly column for the Advertiser series of newspapers. Below is the April article.
Sometimes when you listen to what people say in the news you would think, as a nation and as a district, our environmental credentials must be in the ditch when compared with other countries. It isn’t the case.
As we press on with achieving net zero by 2050, let us note and celebrate our achievements too because a significant milestone has been reached.
Data released this month shows how far we have come. In fact the UK leads the way in cutting emissions after the data showed a reduction of 53 per cent in UK greenhouse gas emissions between 1990 and 2023 – down 5 per cent from 2022.
The electricity supply sector saw a drop in emissions of 19.6 per cent, homes had a fall of 7.2 per cent and industry had an 8.0 per cent drop. The latest statistics reflect the UK’s world-leading record on renewable electricity – we have the five largest operational offshore wind farms and nearly half of our electricity generation now comes from renewables compared to just 7 per cent in 2010.
The figures also show that the UK has reduced its territorial greenhouse gas emissions more than the combined emissions reductions from the US, Canada, France, Italy and Japan between 1990 and 2021.
The UK is the first major economy to halve its emissions from the 1990 baseline and has cut emissions faster than any other G7 country over the last decade.
Reducing our carbon emissions is clearly good for the environment. But it is more than just an environmental imperative that we de-carbonise. It is also an economic imperative. Let me demonstrate why.
Since 2010, the UK has attracted £300 billion in low-carbon investment with a further £100 billion expected by 2030 supporting up to 480,000 UK jobs. Companies have announced plans for £24 billion of new low-carbon investment since September alone.
We can become, and are becoming, world leaders in low carbon technology. Our investment in carbon capture and storage will be worth £5bn to the economy by 2050 and provide tens of thousands of jobs.
Here in Harrogate and Knaresborough we are part of that national effort too. We have seen decarbonisation projects in many of our major public buildings. Our Leisure and Wellness Centres in Harrogate and in Knaresborough are powered by heat pumps rather than boilers. Lighting in many of our car parks has switched to LEDs. We have undertaken major tree planting schemes with more to come. Our hospital is investing in green technology and looking to reduce its carbon footprint by 80 per cent by the end of the decade.
Some say that achieving net zero will hurt our economy. But it isn’t anti-market to want to get to net zero. Decarbonisation need not be a drag on our country. It helps sustain our climate, so important as we see more extreme weather. It underpins jobs, investment and economic growth. And we are well-positioned to be world leaders in developing the technology to make it happen.
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