UK government must spend 100 times more to tackle climate emergency

A new analysis by WWF suggests the current level of UK spending to combat the climate emergency is one hundredth of what the government's own advisers say is needed.

Spending on green policies in the March 2021 Budget add up to just 0.01% of GDP. However, the government's own advisory Climate Change Committee has said 1% of GDP - must be spent every year in order to meet climate targets.

WWF says the UK has no hope of delivering on its own promise of a 78% CO2 cut by 2035 at the current rate of spending. For despite a promise by the prime minister in November that £12bn would fund a 'green industrial revolution', contradictory policies that encourage pollution total £40bn.

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For example, the freeze on fuel duty cost the Treasury £11.2bn in the financial year 2019-20 alone.

The statistics surrounding the climate emergency can be hard to comprehend leaving us as individuals confused over the part we play. The WWF has produced a useful environmental footprint calculator so that individuals can monitor their own impact. After all, it's up to all of us to fix it.

Try the environmental footprint calculator

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