While some party leaders, MPs and peers are calling for a slowdown or cancellation of emissions reduction targets, some of the most polluting sectors feel very differently.
In a survey of its members, the Association for Project Management (APM) has found that 52% of the 1,000 recipients are now ‘very confident’ the UK can hit net zero by 2050. When the same question was asked in 2023, the just 31% felt the country was likely to get there.
Between the two polls, Downing Street has made significant adjustments to its approach towards emissions reductions. This includes pushing back the deadline by which new petrol and diesel cars need to be taken off the market, and removing gas boilers from the domestic energy mix.
While just under half did not share the highest levels of optimism, very few APM members now significant doubt. Just 4% reported not being confident that targets could be met, with the remaining 44% confirming they were ‘somewhat’ confident in the mission plan.
Confidence as high for an umber of reasons, and reflects views across construction, engineering, automotive and transport and logistics. For the most part, action being taken by employers was helping people feel more optimistic, but around half also said steps by their sectors and industries as a whole, and international measures, were also now reassuring.
The results paint a contrasting picture to former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s recent comments which, although widely taken out of context, cast doubt over the current roadmap. Meanwhile, Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has labelled the 2050 idea as ‘impossible’ and Nigel Farage, Reform’s outspoken frontman, has long made it clear that should his party ever get into government it would be policy to abandon the majority of emissions policies. Last week local elections saw the emerging populist party sweep to victory in a number of key constituencies.
‘It is positive to see an increased confidence across the project profession in the UK meeting its 2050 net zero ambitions,’ said APM chief executive Adam Boddison. ‘As the effects of climate change become increasingly apparent, there has been a marked global shift towards the net zero transition, prioritising national plans for the reduction of carbon emissions. The project profession stands at the crossroads of this transition, ensuring complex environmental targets are translated into actionable, efficient, and achievable strategies.’
Image: H&CO / Unsplash
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