MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th February, 2023) The United Kingdom's decision to set up a department dedicated to energy security and reaching net zero emissions is a welcome step showing the Conservative government's commitment to resolving those issues despite some lingering concerns, experts told Sputnik.
Last week, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the creation of several new departments as part of measures designed to deliver on his promises to voters. The new government bodies, in particular, include the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, which is "tasked with securing our long-term energy supply, bringing down bills and halving inflation."
This is not the first time the country has established a separate energy department, as it used to have one from 1974 to 1992, Mark Garnett, a senior lecturer at the department of politics, philosophy and religion at Lancaster University, said.
"Arguably there is more justification for such a department today than there was even in 1974, since climate change has become a significant governmental issue to add to long-term problems relating to energy supplies. The move underlines the government's stated commitment to a 'net zero' target for greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and will make it more difficult for Britain to adopt policies which conflict with that goal," Garnett told Sputnik.
In the same vein, Heather Alberro, a lecturer in global sustainable development at Nottingham Trent University, suggested that the government's actions signal "a hopeful move in the right direction." At the same time, she pointed out the government's shortcomings in terms of preserving the country's environment, such as its failure to meet any of the 23 targets of the 25-year plan to protect the UK's natural spaces as well as the Tories' poor performance in terms of strengthening wildlife abundance.
"Tories have a track record of prioritising profits, financial deregulation and economic expansion over ambitious climate action and tackling extreme inequality, which in turn fuels environmental breakdown. So, only time will tell whether this recent reshuffle will lead to meaningful climate action, or if it's little more than smoke and mirrors. Their track record points towards the latter," Alberro said.
Under the Paris Agreement, the UK has agreed to achieve net zero by 2050, with an interim target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 78% by 2035.
