Britain’s Energy Secretary Ed Miliband is to impose stringent new climate targets on households across the country.
He says families will have to cut back on meat and dairy to meet his new climate targets and has signed up to a legally binding goal to cut the UK’s carbon emissions by 87per cent by 2040.
To achieve this goal, it’s been recommend that households cut their meat and dairy consumption by 20-50%. They are also expected to replace boilers with heat pumps and shift to electric cars.
The Daily Mail reports: The climate target – recommended by Government advisers the Climate Change Committee (CCC) – is one of the world’s most ambitious.
Mr Miliband accepted it despite Britain being responsible for less than one per cent of global greenhouse emissions.
The agreement also comes despite a major backlash to net zero policies by the Tories and Reform UK who have promised to abolish targets if they win power.
The CCC said more Britons can expect to drive electric cars and use heat pumps which they say would result on lower energy bills.
While it said people would need to reduce meat and dairy, it said that they will still be able to fly at close to today’s levels.
More trees would have to be planted to reduce carbon emissions, while petrol lawn mowers would have to be replaced with battery-powered models, it added.
The pledge to reduce greenhouse gases by 87per cent on 1990 levels is seen as vital to reaching net zero by 2050 – a target the Tories and Reform have pledged to scrap.
But a Labour source told the Times: ‘This is a fight we’re happy to have, and the politics is strong for Labour, especially with others really rowing back.
‘Business wants certainty, public polling remains strong on climate action, and long-term benefits outweigh any costs.
‘Fundamentally, this is about energy security, investment and Britain’s future competitiveness.’
The CCC’s so-called seventh carbon budget sets a legally binding cap on the maximum level of emissions for a period of five years.
While its advice has never been rejected before, it comes at a precarious time with even Tony Blair’s think tank calling for a rethink as energy prices spiral.
Britain has been badly impacted by wars in Ukraine and Iran due to its reliance on global fossil fuel markets.
It also comes as pressure grows for him to grant permission to approve on the Jackdaw and Rosebank North Sea oil and gas fields.
But Mr Miliband said the drive for clean homegrown power was the ‘only way’ to protect family and business finances.
He accused opponents of sticking their heads in the sand about climate breakdown and its impact on future generations.
‘Some people want to stick their heads in the sand and let our children face the consequences of climate breakdown – but this government believes in the timeless British value of protecting our country for generations to come,’ he said.