UK Budget 2020 – 10 takeaways for the environment

🔎 What’s going on?

The spring UK budget 2020 was announced by chancellor Rishi Sunak - here are the 10 takeaways for the environment:

🌳 What does this mean?

There were clear winners from the budget for the environment: clean transport, biodiversity and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). 

1. Investment for building flood defences has doubled to £5.2bn - a climate mitigation strategy spread over five years as sea level continues to rise. 
2. Almost £1bn has been set aside for clean transport - including £800 million for bus and cycling infrastructure and £500m for nationwide electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
3. A second Road Investment Strategy (RIS2) worth £27bn has been announced, to top up on the first one which runs out in 2020. The government will announce a wider plan to reduce carbon from the transport sector later this year.
4. A Plastic Packaging Tax has been introduced - from April 2022, the government will charge £200 per tonne on packaging with less than 30% recycled content.
5. An £800m Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Fund has been established. The fund will help build CCS in at least two UK sites, one by mid-2020 and another by 2030. 
6. A Green Gas Levy has been announced to help fund the development of greener fuels. Support for installations of heat pumps and biomass boilers have also been announced, for households and small businesses.  
7. £640 million in tree planting and peatland restoration in England - 30,000 hectares of trees will be planted and 35,000 hectares of peatland restored. Read about the benefits here. 
8. Triple the amount of funding for the Darwin Plus programme, which aims to protect and conserve globally significant biodiversity found in UK Overseas Territories.
9. £304 million to help local authorities reduce air pollution 
10. Tax relief on red diesel will be removed by 2022, which is a harmful diesel that farm tractors and ships use. It produces nitrogen dioxide and microscopic harmful particles. 

❓Why should I care?

Ahead of hosting COP26 in November, it’s really important that the UK as a country starts displaying higher climate ambitions.    

🚦 Where do we need to be?

This budget is a good start in demonstrating our commitment to reaching net-zero by 2050. However, much more is required, especially within the transport sector. 

👤What can I do about it?

Support government action on climate action by taking your own climate actions. Here are the top 5 ways you can reduce your emissions: 

1. Switch to a renewable energy supplier
2. Reduce food waste
3. Switch to a plant-based diet
4. Switch to an electric vehicle
5. Insulate your home to conserve heat