Brits Ready to Hand Government More Power on Climate Change

The British public wants government to play a bigger role in tackling climate change, including bringing forward a ban on diesel and gasoline cars and taxing frequent fliers.

That’s the conclusion of a six-month citizens’ assembly convened by the U.K. Parliament, which announced its findings Thursday. More than 100 people from a cross section of society took part in the consultation on how to meet the goal of net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050.

Almost 80% of the group, which included climate skeptics, called for a green recovery from the pandemic by limiting investments in polluting industries while boosting spending on low-carbon infrastructure. Over six weekends this year the group voted in secret ballots to determine how emissions should be cut across all areas of the economy, from travel to electricity supply and food.

Its conclusions reveal a society that wants to zero out emissions in a way that doesn’t widen inequalities. For example, supporting farmers by making payments conditional on low-carbon practices and paying landowners to restore peatland or plant trees.

Assembly members provided a mixed picture when climate solutions clashed with lifestyle choices. While they supported the move to ban gasoline and diesel cars as early as 2030, they only backed proposals for increasing the cost of air travel for frequent flyers. The group also voted down a proposal to bring forward the net-zero target to before 2050 and said reducing meat and dairy consumption should be voluntary.