Electricity must be made cheaper than gas if Britain is to hit its Net Zero targets, government's climate advisers warn

Electricity must be made cheaper than gas if the UK is to hit its Net Zero targets, the Government's climate advisers have warned.

The measure is one of ten urgent actions that need to be brought in if the country is going to be able to cut greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) said.

The warning forms part of the CCC's Annual Report to Parliament in which it advises on how the UK can reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.

Cheaper electricity would help industry to go electric and ensure people save on bills from installing efficient, heat pumps instead of gas boilers, it said.

Around 10 per cent of homes will need to be heated by an electric-powered heat pump in 2030, compared with just 1 per cent now.

Acting CCC chief executive Dr James Richardson said that the average electricity bill would need to get cheaper by £140 per household – but that would need to be paid for by either increasing the cost of gas or subsidising it from taxes.

He suggested that gas bills could rise to cover it, adding, 'Most people have a dual fuel bill, so if you take cost off electricity, but put some of that back on gas, the bill as a whole would still fall, but the incentive effect would then be there.'

Among other recommendations, the CCC said that the market share of new electric cars needs to increase from 16.5 per cent today to nearly 100 per cent.

Annual installation rates of offshore wind farms must treble, onshore wind installations must double and the amount of solar panels being installed must increase five times, to reach Net Zero the report said.

The CCC also called for greater progress on tree planting – targets from the previous government to plant 30,000 hectares of trees a year were never reached, with current levels at around 13,000 hectares of trees annually.

The committee said only a third of the emissions reductions needed to meet the UK's first target along the way to reach net zero, its international commitment to cut emissions by 68 per cent on 1990 levels by 2030, are covered by 'credible' plans.

It added that the UK had a successful track record of cutting emissions, with greenhouse gases down by half since 1990, and there were significant reductions in pollution in 2023.

But the previous Government sent 'inconsistent messages' signalled a slowing of pace and reversed or delayed key policies last year.

It also called for the new Government to reverse recent policy rollbacks including the decision to exempt 20 per cent of homes from a new gas boiler phase-out by 2035, the removal of obligations on landlords to improve energy efficiency and pushing back the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel car sales.

Dr Richardson said: 'These rollbacks were unhelpful, they will slow progress, they don't help households with high energy costs nor do they help the UK energy security.

'To do that we need to accelerate the move away from fossil fuels.'