Dan McGrail, chief executive, RenewableUK:

“The CCC is right to point out that building more onshore wind and solar projects is the fastest way to cut people’s bills by reducing the use of gas.

“The CCC also highlights the fact that bottlenecks need to be tackled. Although offshore wind deployment has been strong, we must ramp up capacity significantly to stay on track to reach the Government’s target of 50GW by 2030. So the Committee’s call for Ministers to take action to enable new projects to connect to the grid faster is a timely one”.

Ruth Herbert, chief executive, CCSA:
“Today’s report from the Climate Change Committee is clear – the UK is not on track to deliver net zero and we need to move much further and faster on CCUS specifically.

Our CCUS Delivery Plan is a call to action for Government, to urgently confirm the business models for both CCUS and hydrogen and to provide clarity to investors on the process for selecting the next wave of clusters that must be operational by 2030.

By establishing a successful CCUS industry with a homegrown UK supply chain, we can unlock other climate solutions such as greenhouse gas removals which will be vital for harder-to-abate sectors such as aviation. The UK has a tremendous unique opportunity to become a global leader in this crucial technology, but we need to push the pedal now.”

Ana Musat, Head of Policy, Aldersgate Group:
“This progress report clearly shows that at a time of energy crisis the UK must not delay the delivery of clear policy programmes to deliver net zero. This is critical to bolster energy security and reduce exposure to volatile fossil fuel prices, as well as lower energy costs for households and industrial users. Businesses recognise that moving further and faster towards net zero can help address these crises, and unlock important opportunities for innovation, job creation and competitiveness.

…today’s report shows that actual progress has been uneven, with major gaps in areas like energy efficiency, land use and agriculture. With bills set to rise again in October, putting more strain on households, a comprehensive home insulation programme backed by regulation and fiscal incentives will be essential to bring UK homes up to standard and lower bills in the short term, in addition to growing supply chains and mobilising investment in skills – a key opportunity for the levelling up agenda.
“To deliver faster progress, government should now focus on continuing to plug the gaps in the Net Zero Strategy as recommended by the CCC, in particular on speeding up deployment of low cost renewables by streamlining the planning system and better aligning the awarding of offshore leases with consent for onshore infrastructure. Beyond this, net zero delivery must become a cross-government priority, with departments across Whitehall and regulators having a clearer duty to place net zero at the heart of policy making and spending decisions. With consistent policy signals and a stable regulatory framework, private investment will do the heavy lifting in terms of meeting the cost of the transition.”

Mike Foster, chief executive, Energy and Utilities Alliance:
“We agree with the CCC and their conclusion that hydrogen-ready boilers need to be mandated and that it is a clear gap in BEIS and Government policy. In today’s publication by the CCC of their 2022 Progress Report to Government, they make it clear that the failure to mandate hydrogen-ready boilers needs to be addressed as soon as possible. Following the agreement from gas boiler manufacturers that hydrogen-ready boilers will cost no more than current gas boilers we see no reason why BEIS should delay in making them mandatory.

“We also share the CCC’s scepticism around the proposed ‘market mechanism’. This ‘mechanism’ will force boiler manufacturers to sell heat pumps, even if consumers don’t want them. This is an astonishingly anti-business and anti-UK manufacturing policy from the supposed ‘business’ department of the Government. Like the CCC, we agree that alternative policies need to be developed for when this ‘market mechanism’ fails to deliver its targets.”

Ian McCluskey, Head of Technical and Policy, iGEM:
“The CCC’s assessment of the government’s progress is concerning. Based on their current plans, the UK is set to deliver around one third of the emissions reductions needed to meet the Sixth Carbon Budget.
“Policy gaps across buildings, heat and demand side reduction pose a considerable threat in an area that represents a significant portion of total UK carbon emissions. We must move quicker, especially on the business models, to support hydrogen supply and low-regrets actions.
“We agree with the report’s conclusion on mandating hydrogen-ready boilers. Inaction risks pushing up the cost of net zero and missing crucial climate targets… We urge the government to expedite its consultation on domestic hydrogen-ready boilers and deliver on its commitments to establish business models for hydrogen and CCS by 2023.”

Dr Matthew Trewhella, chief executive, Kensa:
“It is one thing to make low-carbon heating technologies like ground source heat pumps available, but it is entirely a different matter to achieve their installation in homes and their adoption for use on a mass scale.
The decarbonisation of heating should be a key priority ….
Rather than replacing gas boilers with ground source heat pumps on a house-by-house basis, Kensa is urging key stakeholders to focus efforts on street-by-street installations of networked heat pumps on ambient temperature loops that utilise the natural heat in the ground combined with waste heat, to facilitate the widespread roll-out of the technology.
By installing the underground infrastructure required for ground source heat pumps a whole street at a time in advance of connecting individual properties, entire communities would be able to switch to renewable heating when they are ready to transition. This would happen in a way that mimics the original roll-out of the gas grid.

Ross Easton, Director of External Affairs, Energy Networks Association:
“Today’s announcement from the CCC is a clear sign that despite the progress made so far, there is a long way to go before we hit Net Zero and that the focus must remain on the long term. Network companies are a central pillar to enabling Net Zero but we will need sufficient certainty and ambition around investment to meet the scale of the challenge ahead.”