Climate Assembly UK brought together people from all walks of life to discuss how the UK can reduce [[greenhouse gas emissions]] to [[net zero]] by [[2050]]. At the assembly, participants learnt about [[climate change]] and how the UK can address it, took time to discuss this with one another, and then made recommendations about what should happen.
Climate Assembly UK had 108 members selected through a process known as ‘[[sortition]]’ or a ‘civic lottery’ to be representative of the UK population. They included include engineers, health workers, parents and grandparents.
Key recommendations in the report included:
- Frequent flyer tax for individuals who fly furthest and most often.
- Increased government investment in low carbon buses and trains.
- An early shift to electric vehicles.
- An urgent ban on selling heavily polluting vehicles such as SUVs.
- Grants for people to buy low-carbon cars.
- A reduction in the amount we use cars by 2–5% per decade.
- Making wind and solar energy a key part of how the UK reaches net zero.
- Greater reliance on local produce and local food production.
- A change in diet – driven by education – to reduce meat and dairy consumption by between 20% and 40%.
UK climate assembly: tax frequent flyers and ban SUVs as part of Covid recove…
Wonder how many of these have been put in place. The recent [[UK energy strategy]] didn’t honour the centrality of wind and solar.