An overwhelming majority of Climate Assembly UK members say Government, employers and others should support changes to the economy and lifestyles which help achieve the UK’s net zero emissions target.

The interim briefing from the assembly, Covid-19, recovery and the path to net zero, offers a unique insight into how 100+ members of the public, working to give Parliament and Government an understanding of the public’s views on how the UK should reach net zero, feel about the implications of the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting lockdown for reaching net zero.

The Coronavirus outbreak and subsequent lockdown have had a huge effect on the economy and lives of people. It has become important for the Government, Parliament and business organisations to strongly consider a recovery approach that will not cause further harm to the planet. We discussed the Coronavirus outbreak at the climate assembly and it was quite clear that many of the assembly members felt that this period should be taken as an opportunity to encourage a green economic recovery with a focus on promoting cleaner, greener lifestyles and an economy that prizes sustainability over short term benefits that would harm the planet. We wanted to make sure that our views were available now so that the government can incorporate them into its economic recovery plan.” said Assembly member Ibrahim, a GP from Surrey

The Chairs of all six commissioning House of Commons Select Committees have written a letter to the Prime Minister, urging him to ensure that the Government takes the Assembly’s views into account when developing policies to help the UK recover from coronavirus.

Throughout the process, Climate Assembly UK members have been clear about their hopes that Government as well as Parliament will act on their work. The assembly members wanted their views on the recovery from Covid-19 to be published ahead of the final report to help inform Parliament and Government’s response to the crisis. This letter from the Chairs of the six commissioning committees, adds their weight to this call.

“It is vital that achieving the UK’s net zero target, which has unanimous cross-party support, is a joint endeavour between the Government, Parliament and the public across the country. In recent months the UK public has demonstrated its capacity to respond positively and responsibly when they understand the risks posed to them by an invisible threat that demands collective action. We believe that a similar approach, based on securing public support for ambitious policies through open dialogue around the science, is a sound basis for the net zero journey.”
Letter to the PM from Chairs of Select Committees

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