Carbon Emissions: Costs
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent estimate he has made of the cost to (a) the public purse, (b) businesses and (c) households of meeting net zero by 2050.
Answered by Katie White
Net zero is the economic opportunity of the 21st century. Meeting climate targets will cost less than failing to deal with climate change. The Climate Change Committee estimates the cost of meeting net zero targets will be on average the equivalent of 0.2% of UK GDP per year and the OBR estimates the cost of failing to deal with climate change will be 5% of UK GDP per year
The 0.2% cost also does not take into account the wider beneficial growth impacts of net zero investment. Since July 2024, £52bn of private investment has been announced in our clean energy industries
The OBR is clear that the costs of climate damage are getting higher, while the cost of the net zero transition is getting lower. Only by investing in the transition now can we reduce costs in future.
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