UK will not be net zero by 2050 if Tories ignore climate emergency

Responding to the Science and Technology Committee's report which has highlighted the lack of policies in place to deliver the net zero target by 2050, Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and the Environment Wera Hobhouse said:

"Climate change is the major crisis affecting not just the UK, but the world.

"This report confirms what we already know: the Conservatives are squandering the legacy of the Liberal Democrats in Coalition and failing to take the climate emergency seriously, despite the devastation that will be caused if we sit on our hands. Liberal Democrats demand better.

"Liberal Democrats would place tackling climate change at the heart of government. We would restore subsidies to renewable energy which were slashed by the Conservatives, we would reintroduce standards for zero-carbon homes and would bring forward the date to end new sales of petrol and diesel cars to 2030. All with the aim of reaching net-zero by 2045, five years earlier than this current government wants."