UK cannot go climate neutral by 2050 without lifestyle changes

A report claims that Net Zero by 2050 is possible with support for innovation and scale-up across three essential areas – Low Carbon Technology, Land Use and Lifestyle.

Energy Systems Catapult modelled 100s of potential pathways to 2050 – ramping up or down different technologies and behaviour changes – to understand the combinations, interactions and trade-offs of competing decarbonisation approaches.

The resulting Innovating to Net Zero report argues that whichever pathway the UK takes to Net Zero, it will need to include deploying more or less combinations of: low carbon technology; land use; and lifestyle changes.

Energy Systems Catapult says that the government urgently needs to invest in three key technologies: carbon capture and storage with bioenergy crops; hydrogen for a wide variety of uses; and advanced nuclear power. The report also warns that livestock production for dairy and meat may need to be cut by 50 per cent rather than the 20 per cent currently envisaged by the Committee on Climate Change. Additionally, people will need to eat less meat and dairy by the same amount.

Scott Milne, who authored the report, said: “Last year the UK became the first major economy in the world to commit to a ‘Net Zero’ emissions target by 2050. Now for the first time, we’ve modelled hundreds of potential pathways to get to Net Zero by 2050, ramping up or down different technologies and behaviour changes – to understand the different combinations, interactions and trade-offs of competing decarbonisation options to reach the most cost-optimised approaches.

“Broadly each potential pathway uses a combination of two different approaches: a top-down technology focused approach or a bottom-up behaviour focused approach. However, what stands out is – no matter which pathway the UK takes – innovation, investment and incentives across low carbon technology, land use and lifestyle is essential to achieve Net Zero. And there are massive economic opportunities for the UK to lead the world in these areas.”