Findings from the Climate Change Committee‘s Citizen’s Panel on net zero have been published today (26 February 2025).
We were delighted to support this important work and the findings from the panel have informed the Climate Change Committee‘s advice to government on the Seventh Carbon Budget.
The panel looked at policies to ensure that choices for Net Zero are accessible and affordable for all, across four areas:
- Low-carbon home heating and insulation.
- Electric vehicles (EVs) and reducing driving through a shift to public transport and active travel.
- A reduction in average meat and dairy consumption.
- A smaller than expected increase in flying.
The panel consisted of 26 members of the public (reflective of the UK population) from Birmingham and the surrounding area. Key findings were:
- People were on board with the household low-carbon choices provided government played a significant and proactive role in supporting households. This role included:
- Information provision, so households are aware and confident about necessary changes.
- Setting clear phase-out dates for petrol/diesel cars and gas boilers.
- Improving public transport and EV charging infrastructure.
- Setting standards for home energy efficiency.
- Providing grants and loans to support households to purchase low-carbon technologies.
- Upfront costs were key, and much more important than overall savings for household affordability and purchase decisions.
- Participants’ perspectives on the fairest way to fund household choices varied across sectors. For example, participants preferred general taxation to be used for home heating, where everyone would have access to some support (i.e. grants for heat pumps), but erred towards only those choosing to fly paying more when thinking about flying.
You can read the full report on the Sciencewise project page here.
Watch the dialogue in action below:
