The government has launched a review into its approach to reaching net zero. Until 27 October 2022, the general public, business, and others will be able to have their say on how the transition affects them.
BEIS has appointed Chris Skidmore MP as review Chair, with overall responsibility for the review and its outputs.
What’s the point?
The ultimate goal of the net zero review is to ensure that the government is “delivering net zero in a way that is pro-business and pro-growth.” By seeking feedback from the community these implementations will affect, there is an opportunity to address flaws, concerns, and shortcoming of the plan, as well as to open up important points of discussion.
The government website states, “we would like to understand from as many different stakeholders and interested groups across the population how the transition can be delivered in a way that supports growth, consumers, communities, energy security and businesses.”
The review will cover multiple aspects, including how net zero can:
- impact economic growth and investing, in turn driving jobs, innovation, exports, and growth across the UK
- minimise costs and expenses in the energy sector for both businesses and consumers, with a focus on immediate support
- help make energy security and affordability more viable for both consumers and businesses
Give your feedback
The questions have been split up into 3 categories for ease of reference, first for overarching questions answerable by all. Then into questions for businesses, the public, academics, and questions for the local government, communities, and organisations.
Overarching questions
1. How does net zero enable us to meet our economic growth target of 2.5% a year?
2. What challenges and obstacles have you identified to decarbonisation?
3. What opportunities are there for new/amended measures to stimulate or facilitate the transition to net zero in a way that is pro-growth and/or pro-business?
4. What more could government do to support businesses, consumers and other actors to decarbonise?
5. Where and in what areas of policy focus could net zero be achieved in a more economically efficient manner?
6. How should we balance our priorities to maintaining energy security with our commitments to delivering net zero by 2050?
7. What export opportunities does the transition to net zero present for the UK economy or UK businesses?
Questions for businesses
8. What growth benefits/opportunities have you had, or do you envisage having, from the net zero transition?
9. What barriers do you face in decarbonising your business and its operations?
10. Looking at the international market in your sector, what green opportunities seem to be nascent or growing?
11. What challenges has the net zero transition presented to your business?
12. What impacts have changing consumer choices/demand had on your business?
13. What impacts have decarbonisation/net zero measures had on your business?
14. What more could be done to support your business and/or sector to decarbonise?
15. Do you foresee a role for your business within an expanded UK supply of heat pumps, energy efficiency, electric vehicles, hydrogen economy or clean power?
16. For clean power industry: what barriers to entry have you found in deploying new plant and technologies?
17. How many green jobs do you estimate will be created in your sector by 2030?
Questions for the public
18. Have you or are you planning to take personal action to reduce your carbon emissions (for example through how you travel, what you buy, how you heat your home)? If so, how?
19. Do you face any barriers to doing this? What are they?
20. What would help you to make greener choices?
21. What is working well about the measures being put in place to reach net zero?
22. What is not working well about the measures being put in place to reach net zero?
23. Do you have any further comments on how efforts to tackle climate change are affecting you?
Questions for local government, communities and other organisations delivering net zero locally
24. What are the biggest barriers you face in decarbonising / enabling your communities and areas to decarbonise?
25. What has worked well? Please share examples of any successful place-based net zero projects.
26. How does the planning system affect your efforts to decarbonise?
27. How can the design of net zero policies, programmes, and funding schemes be improved to make it easier to deliver in your area?
28. Are there any other implications of net zero or specific decarbonisation projects for your area that the Review should consider?
Questions for academia and innovators
29. How can we ensure that we seize the benefits from future innovation and technologies?
30. Is there a policy idea that will help us reach net zero you think we should consider as part of the review?
The call for evidence is open until 27 October 2022. You can respond via the dedicated online survey on the government website.