Selling net zero to us all

“At the beginning of the year what was claimed to be the biggest ever opinion poll on climate change took place. The UN Development Programme questioned 1.2m people across 50 countries. It found that two thirds believe that is a global emergency. While younger people showed the greatest concern, with 69 per cent of those aged 14-18 saying there is a climate emergency, 58 per cent of those over 60 agreed, suggesting there is not a huge generational divide.

What was not clear from that huge cross section of the earth’s population was how much sacrifice each person would be prepared to give in the name of mitigating climate change. Judging by the recent result of the referendum in Switzerland the answer would be very little. Switzerland emits roughly the same amount of carbon dioxide as Ireland, and a new plan put to a public vote recently aimed to scrub more emissions from the environmental accounting books. But the Swiss were having none of it and nearly 52 per cent said ‘no’, ‘non’ and ‘nein’ to a government-backed proposal under which airline tickets would have been subject to additional charges and local carbon taxes on petrol, diesel, heating oil and fossil gas could have been set up.

The revenues generated by the extra charges would have been largely returned to Swiss citizens through health insurance rebates, and a large chunk would also have been used to fund green technologies.

The Swiss pro campaigners clearly failed to make the case for the benefits of increased climate action whether it is on the jobs it can create, the better health, and ultimately lower household energy costs.

What would happen if the same referendum were carried out in the UK? I suspect the result would be similar. The Swiss result should carry a health warning for the UK. If there is the slightest chance that we will all be worse off through higher taxation then public opinion will turn. The biggest challenge will be to ensure that nobody is worse off in the net-zero transition or there is the chance they will be. If we are to get anywhere near our 2050 net zero target it is going to be absolutely crucial that the Government, energy suppliers, and in fact anyone involved in the energy industry ensures that the message gets across clearly.”

Mark Thrower, Managing Editor