New @nestauk.bsky.social blog by me: the UK's COP29 pledge to reduce emissions 81% by 2035 is great, but we are not going to meet it without much faster action to decarbonise heating
https://www.nesta.org.uk/blog/cop29-the-uk-cant-be-a-climate-leader-till-it-ditches-dirty-heat/
https://www.nesta.org.uk/blog/cop29-the-uk-cant-be-a-climate-leader-till-it-ditches-dirty-heat/
Comments
But...
- Actual reason is offsetting via other countries is clearly a far worse route to decarbonisation
- Legal reason I'm not so sure on, but the domestic carbon budgets are the bit that really bite legally and afaik require emissions reductions
- Measurement and double-counting issues
- Additionality issues (paying for decarb that would happen anyway
- Not convinced deferring harder bits of decarb is wise
- Value to UK of being first mover towards a net zero energy system
And also the best argument for offsetting is if it buys you a bit more time to do decarbonisation better / at lower cost. Not convinced that’s a good argument on heat though - it’s mainly just bad policy + a bit of industry nonsense