CONSULTATION: UK net zero government

The Environmental Audit Committee has launched a new inquiry into net zero government. It will focus on the sustainability of the Government’s estate and procurement processes and what action it needs to take to achieve its net zero emissions target by 2050 or sooner.

More details can be found here.

The consultation is looking to get evidence-based feedback on the following questions. You can answer some or all of the questions in the response.

Achieving a net zero government

• What must be done to achieve a net zero government?
• What time frame is required for government to achieve alignment with net zero emissions?
• What challenges might government encounter as part of this process? How could these be overcome?
• How should net zero targets be set, monitored and enforced?
• What must government do to ensure a just transition and decent work as it moves its estate towards net zero?

Leadership and partnership

• To what extent is government “leading by example” in aligning its estate and operations with net zero emissions?
• What examples of good practice could government implement to become a net zero government?
• How should the government work with the devolved administrations to achieve common goals across the UK?
• How can the government report on and reduce its water use?
• How can the government report on and reduce its carbon footprint?

Is government following its own advice?

• Are existing government frameworks ambitious enough to meet the requirements set out by the Committee on Climate Change?
• What must government do to achieve its Road to Zero target to make its entire fleet ultra-low emission by 2030?
• What must be done to align the new set of Greening Government Commitments with a net zero government?
• How can the government’s estate be more climate friendly?
• How should government drive behaviour change in staff to ensure greener, healthier workplaces?

If you would like to get involved in the IMarEST response, please send your comments on any of the above questions  to [email protected] by 9 August 2019.

If you are already involved in this consultation with another organisation or personally you can still contribute to an IMarEST response so that we can represent a view of the membership, comments are not individually attributed so please feel free to send us a copy of your comments to [email protected].