Rishi Sunak is under fierce attack from British climate experts over his government’s failure over the past 18 months to appoint a new chairman of the independent committee that advises ministers on emissions targets.
In a letter to the prime minister leaked to the Observerthe UK’s leading organization working on the economic effects of global warming has condemned the “inordinate delay” in finding a replacement for previous chairman Lord Deben.
Bob Ward, the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change’s head of policy, warned Sunak that the delay was harming efforts to control carbon emissions and damaging the UK’s reputation as a climate change leader.
“Given that the recruitment of the new chairman began 18 months ago, it is inexplicable that the appointment has still not been announced,” Ward wrote. The work of the committee is at a “critical stage”, he added. “It’s not helpful that it doesn’t have a new chair yet as it does this work.”
Economist Lord Stern, who chairs the institute, said: “This appears to be yet another sign that the government is not taking climate change policy seriously enough. All this is damaging the confidence of other countries and of investors in the UK’s commitment to climate action.”
The failure to find a new committee chair is the latest example of Sunak’s lack of consistency with his party’s green commitments. This year he upset environmentalists when he introduced legislation for a annual system of oil and gas licenses in the North Sea which followed a scaling down of other measures including delays for a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars.
The Committee on Climate Change is a body of experts set up under the Climate Change Act of 2008 to guide national policies for controlling emissions and to help the country prepare for the impacts of global warming. In the past it was highly critical of Britain’s poor performance in areas including the country’s flood defenses and domestic energy efficiency.
In July 2022 it was announced that Lord Deben – who was due to retire – would continue in the post for an extra nine months while a new chair was sought. A year and a half later, the post is still vacant with Prof Piers Forster acting as interim head.
Ed Miliband, shadow secretary of state for climate change, said it was critical for the UK to become a clean energy superpower to reduce power bills for families and make the nation energy independent.
“This is yet another sign that the Conservatives have given up on the fight for lower bills, energy independence and climate leadership,” Miliband said. “Rishi Sunak should end the delay and make this important appointment as soon as possible.”
A key role of the committee is to set out the future amounts of greenhouse gases the UK could emit. The next carbon budget – the UK’s seventh – will set how much can be emitted for the period 2038 to 2042.
“The budget must be agreed by the first half of 2025 and built on robust analysis and rigorous engagement by the committee,” Ward added. “The fact that by 2024 he will still not have a chairman in place to direct this work is extremely worrying.”
Lord Deben agreed that a replacement was needed as soon as possible. “It is very important that a successor is appointed because they have to start working on the seventh carbon budget. It takes a few years.”
Government sources said the appointment of a new chairman must be approved not only by ministers in London, but also by the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and the devolved government in Northern Ireland. It is understood that this process is not yet complete.
One of the frontrunners for the job is said to be former Tory minister and president of the Resolution Foundation think tank David Willetts.
A government spokesman said it remains committed to existing climate change targets and is on track to reach net zero in 2050. They also said they would appoint a permanent chairman “over time”.
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