by Philip Dunne, published in BusinessGreen
Over the course of the last Parliament the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) held the government's feet to the fire on some of the most pressing, and topical, environmental issues of the day.
The G7 is imminent and COP26 is fast approaching, where UK environmental commitments will be central to international leadership. There are widespread concerns that current global pledges on emissions reduction will result in overall warming of 3C above pre-industrial levels. Now is the time for effective government policy interventions to deliver these commitments to protect our environment.
To succeed, any intervention must be two-pronged: it must demonstrate tangible improvements to the environment, while enabling citizens to go about their daily lives with minimal disruption. A solution-driven approach to this conundrum is therefore essential.
Over the last 14 months, our Committee held 37 evidence sessions, published 74 items of correspondence, launched 15 inquiries and published three reports. These reports followed substantive inquiries into electronic waste, the Covid-19 economic recovery and the energy efficiency of existing homes.
First on the agenda was an inquiry into e-waste. Many of us possess multiple electrical appliances, especially mobile phones, tablets and laptops, too many previous models of which gather dust in bottom drawers. Gold, tungsten, lithium, cobalt and other precious metals can be found in these devices and are crucial in the manufacture of wind turbines, electric vehicle batteries and solar panels. An effective circular economy for electronic products is needed, but current rates of reuse and recycling are disappointing. We called for a Right to Repair, so welcome legislation, due to come later this year, to require spare parts and repair manuals to become available for consumers to fix their products. We are also pleased that government is considering our recommendation for online marketplaces to offer customers a facility to collect products for recycling.
Covid-19 clearly dominated the last session of Parliament and led to massive shocks to the UK economy. The government should be commended for how quickly it offered financial support to protect businesses and jobs. But it missed a golden opportunity to align its economic support with environmental protection measures which could have created jobs and increased resilience. It was encouraging to see the Chancellor revise his mandate to the Bank of England, which must now have regard to environmental sustainability and net zero in its policies, including its corporate bond purchasing.
We examined the energy efficiency of existing homes. Unless action is taken this decade on energy efficiency, the UK is unlikely to meet its 2050 target for net zero emissions. Homes contribute 20per cent to national greenhouse gas emissions, with 19 million of them rated below EPC C. The scale of the challenge is immense. We called for an urgent overhaul of the infamous Green Homes Grant voucher scheme (which was closed less than a week later), for EPCs to be modernised and eventually replaced with Building Renovation Passports, and for the Government to undertake meaningful cost analysis on how much retrofitting existing housing stock will cost. The government's current calculation of £35-£65bn for most homes to reach EPC C has been underestimated.
A further substantial inquiry covered biodiversity and ecosystems. Over the course of this inquiry we heard compelling evidence on why the environment should be treated with greater care. Healthy ecosystems are critical for the food we eat and the air we breathe. With governments around the world failing to meet the UN Aichi targets to improve the state of biodiversity, action must be taken. Our recommendations will be published in coming weeks.
We also started a rolling inquiry considering technological innovations and climate change. To date we have considered offshore wind, hydrogen, heat pumps, tidal power and community energy on their merits in forging a low carbon future. We have identified barriers holding up progress and have suggested solutions to optimise potential.
A lack of clarity over government support mechanisms, pricing regimes or grid connection is holding up many renewable energy projects. Many tidal energy projects are stuck at concept stage. Community energy policy has hit a brick wall with a lack of financial incentive, since many schemes introduced under the Coalition Government have not been extended. Shortages of skilled engineers and high upfront costs could scupper the government's target of installing 600,000 heat pumps a year by 2028. A lack of policy clarity and delay in the government'' hydrogen strategy is holding up the pipeline of investible projects in hydrogen. For offshore wind, insufficient infrastructure is delaying further progress, from deep ports - needed because of the sheer size of modern turbines, thankfully recognised In the March Budget - to the constraints on new wind farms securing grid connection.
Shortly before Parliament was prorogued, the Committee held evidence sessions on water quality in rivers and fashion sustainability.
The scourge of pollution coursing through the nation's waterways is shameful. We heard that although there were 160 identified breaches in legally permitted sewage spills last year, the true number could be ten times more. Tackling this issue is crucial to environmental health and will be of continuing interest to the Committee in the new session.
We picked up our predecessors' work on fashion sustainability. Not only do fashion and textiles have a significant environmental footprint, but the allegations of modern slavery in factories in Leicester making clothes for some of the country's biggest brands are appalling. It is promising that brands and retailers appear to be tackling this problem. Boohoo assured the Committee that it is considering aligning senior executive bonuses with making environmental, social and corporate governance improvements to its business.
If all of this wasn't enough, we are still in the midst of further substantial inquiries, gathering evidence on green jobs, the sustainability of the built environment and the battery supply chain for electric vehicles. We are also considering our response to the Defra consultation on deposit return schemes for drinks containers.
As we look to the new Parliamentary session, our scrutiny on environmental matters and how the government turns its laudable intent into delivery of net zero emissions, has never been so important. In the year of COP26, the UK has an opportunity to show climate leadership, and I hope ministers continue to take our recommendations seriously. We must concentrate efforts on finding solutions for the future. That is exactly what the Committee will continue to do so that we can all play our part in forging net zero Britain.
Philip Dunne is chair of Parliament's Environmental Audit Committee and the MP for Ludlow.