Report calls for Net Zero Delivery Authority

A new report from Policy Connect is urging for the creation of a Net Zero Delivery Authority to provide delivery leadership in England to make net zero happen.

Connecting the Watts says that such an authority would ensure delivery on the strategies, facilitating cross-departmental action, and act as the lynchpin in a whole-systems, coordinated approach that connects central to local, people to policymakers and the UK to its net zero carbon future.

Policy Connect believes that the authority should be established in statute so as to have the autonomy to make the necessary implementation decisions. To provide assurance to business and people about its longevity and clout, it should be sponsored jointly by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and Her Majesty’s Treasury.

The report also calls for every government department to publicly sign up to apply a Net Zero Test to its individual strategies and policies and be held to account, and for local government and its partners – who have the reach into local communities and businesses – to be empowered to plan the transition and resourced to make it happen, street by street.

Darren Jones, chair of the BEIS Select Committee, said: “I would like to thank Policy Connect for their report detailing a roadmap to Net Zero. Now Parliament must consider which pathways will help us to reach our legally binding Net Zero targets and achieve a just transition. The government must not waste the momentum that we've gained from COP26. Now is the time for delivery, so I welcome the publication of this action-orientated report.”

Wera Hobhouse MP, who co-chaired the report, added: “A coordinated response involving local people is vital for the UK to reach Net Zero. My constituents have many questions about reaching net zero and how this might impact their lives and this report sets out an impressive approach that connects local people to policymakers as the UK works towards a zero carbon future. A just transition must be central to any net zero programme.”