The UK still won’t say how much CO2 its Net Zero Strategy will save. For the third time, the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has refused a request to release key details about its Net Zero Strategy. The UK government has declined for a third time to release the expected emissions savings for measures in its landmark plan to meet the UK’s carbon targets, in a decision that critics have called deeply unhelpful and concerning. When the Net Zero Strategy was published last October, officials said its policies on everything from electric cars to nuclear power were collectively enough to put the UK back on track for its legally binding carbon targets in coming years. But the savings from individual polices weren’t released, making it impossible to scrutinise the claims and drawing criticism over a lack of transparency. The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) refused a New Scientist freedom of information request for a spreadsheet of the savings in December. Weeks later, it rejected an appeal on the grounds that releasing the information risked “damaging the internal decision-making process”. Now BEIS has declined to publish its figures for a third time, after Labour MP Darren Jones called on the department to reconsider withholding the document. In response, energy minister Greg Hands said the figures will be published in emissions projections in “due course”, without giving any date.
New Scientist 21st Jan 2022 read more »