BEIS raised alarm bells over a key report on Government progress to net zero, which was deemed to be dire and catastrophic for the country and planet if not acted on.
The report of the Independent Climate Change Committee CCC revealed that Downing Street's current strategy will not reach net zero carbon emissions over the next three decades.
The report is scathing about delivery of commitments, according to Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Chair Darren Jones.
He suggested the report is a warning against complacency and highlighted its data on the lack of insulation across the UK's housing stock, as well as the lack of coherent strategies to decarbonise people's homes.
The report revealed a gap in policy for better insulated homes, citing previous promises of significant public spending and a commitment to new policies last year, but neither of which happened.
The report said there was a gap in policy for more insulated homes because of the soaring energy bills. The government promised significant public spending in 2019 and committed to new policies last year, but neither has yet to occur. The UK has some of the most leakiest homes in Europe and installations of insulation are at rock bottom. The average energy bill for UK households is around 40 higher than if insulation rates from pre-2012 had continued for the last decade.
Jones stated that his committee questioned the lack of insulation in British homes, as well as an absence of coherent strategies to decarbonise heat in homes.
He said that a failed scheme to incentivise insulation was yet to be replaced and despite our lack of an update from the Business Secretary on Tuesday, there was no assurance that a new scheme would be announced soon and properly funded. The CCC reported some progress in cutting UK emissions in the past decades, which are now more than half 47 per cent of their 1990 levels, but the Government needs to go further to reduce emissions.
The CCC applauded the Government for setting ambitious targets in its 600-inch assessment, but it said there was scant evidence of delivery against headline goals, warning that the probability of under-delivery was high.
The report said that further progress must be led by Government policies with clear direction, credible delivery mechanisms and suitable incentives to shape private sector action. This is yet to be completed in any sector of the economy. The report makes over 300 recommendations for filling out policies over the next year, reflecting the scale of the task at hand.
It described the strategy of the Government as a high-wire approach to net zero, and that for the UK's climate lead to be effective, the world must have confidence that the country will meet its promises and have a clear programme to meet its commitments.
Lord Deben, chairman of the CCC, said that the UK is a champion in setting new climate goals, now we must be world-beaters when it comes to delivering them. The country is crying out to end its dependence on expensive fossil fuels in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis.