“Just as science will enable humanity to rout the coronavirus, we will use the UK’s extraordinary powers of invention to repair the economic damage to plan for a green recovery.” This is a segment from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s speech on the nation’s new Ten-Point Green Plan, which outlines his government’s efforts to limit the country’s greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change. 

The United Kingdom, having decided to transition away from coal five years ago, now aims to end the sale of gas and diesel cars by 2030. Its ultimate goal is to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The country’s plan focuses on key areas in green technology: advancing offshore wind, producing low-carbon hydrogen, improving nuclear power, launching carbon-capture initiatives, and encouraging the use of zero-emissions vehicles. 

This new plan is projected to create up to 250,000 highly-skilled green jobs in the United Kingdom by 2030, supported by £12 billion in government investment. However, the Labour Party dismissed the plan as “deeply, deeply disappointing,” saying it will neither adequately address climate change, nor reverse the unemployment boom that COVID-19 has exacerbated. 

This criticism of the British Green Plan is valid. Climate experts warn reducing greenhouse gas emissions is complicated and critics claim that the funding is too little for a project of this scope. Although it appears to be a promising step forward, it is estimated a project of this scale requires more than £24 billion per year to expand access to clean technologies.

Additionally, the proposed ban on the sale of petrol and diesel cars signals the end of the internal combustion engine. This will require a significant shift in societal behaviour. And Professor Jillian Anabel from Leeds University believes even electric vehicles still pose a number of problems politicians tend to ignore. These include the huge number of wind farms required to produce electricity, disposing of resource-heavy batteries, and the need for parking spaces that could be used for gardens and green space. The reality is that fewer cars should be on the road in general. Individuals must change their lifestyles significantly in order to meet the government’s targets.

In November 2021, Glasgow will host the COP26 UN Summit, which was postponed this year due to the pandemic. This will be the most important global negotiation to tackle climate change since the Paris Agreement of 2015. Here, it will be crucial for the United Kingdom to demonstrate its climate leadership—and the government must act now if it wants a realistic chance to meet its climate targets. 

The Green Plan sets out ambitious goals to transition the United Kingdom to net zero, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and boost employment in clean technology. However, the government will need to invest more to execute a green plan of this scale because, as of now, this plan is not sufficient on its own. 

COVID-19 has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 17 per cent from 2019 levels as a result of global lockdowns. However, experts predict that a pandemic-sized carbon stoppage every year until the end of the decade is necessary to stay below 1.5 degrees Celsius of global warming. The pandemic has amplified the message that listening to the warnings of scientists will be necessary to avoid future public health and economic tragedies. The United Kingdom's Green Plan presents a set of optimistic goals to tackle climate change, but in order for this policy to be realized, more must be done.