MPs have called on the Government to remove the words “net zero” from the name of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, arguing that the phrase has become a “lightning rod” for opposition to the UK's energy transition.
The House of Commons Energy Security and Net Zero Committee made the recommendation in a new report, Zero sum game: How the UK can reframe the energy transition, published on Thursday 17 September.
The cross-party committee says the Government should continue pursuing its energy and climate objectives but change the language it uses to communicate them, placing greater emphasis on energy bills, jobs, warmer homes and energy security.
Committee calls for 'net zero' to be dropped from department name
The report recommends that the Government reduce its use of the term “net zero” in public communications and remove it from the name of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
MPs argue that the phrase has increasingly become associated with political division rather than the practical changes involved in moving Britain's energy system towards cleaner domestic sources.
The committee says “net zero” has become a “lightning rod for opposition to climate action” and risks obscuring policies that can have more immediate relevance to households and businesses.
Instead, it recommends that ministers communicate individual policies in terms of their practical objectives and potential benefits, including reducing energy costs, improving energy security, creating jobs and making homes warmer and more efficient.
Political consensus has 'broken down'
The report follows the committee's inquiry into public support for the energy transition.
It says the broad political consensus that previously existed around Britain's transition towards lower-carbon energy has broken down, with opposition to net-zero policies becoming increasingly prominent in political debate.
Despite that shift, the committee says public support for the UK's overall net-zero commitment remains substantial.
The report cites polling indicating that around six in ten people support the Government's commitment to reach net zero, while roughly a quarter oppose it.
MPs nevertheless argue that support for the overall objective does not automatically translate into support for every individual policy needed to deliver it.
Focus on bills, jobs and energy security
The committee recommends that Government communications concentrate less on the abstract concept of net zero and more on the specific consequences of energy policy.
That could include explaining how policies affect household bills, employment, industrial investment, energy independence and the cost of heating homes.
The report argues that policies are more likely to retain public support when people understand both the benefits and the costs and when ministers are clear about how those costs are distributed.
MPs also call for greater transparency about the trade-offs involved in the transition rather than presenting every measure as producing only benefits.
Committee raises concern over misinformation
The report also calls for stronger action to address misinformation and misleading claims surrounding climate and energy policy.
It recommends that the Government work more closely with scientists, independent experts and other trusted organisations to communicate evidence about the energy transition.
The committee argues that ministers alone may not always be the most effective messengers and that information should increasingly come from sources the public considers independent and credible.
Recommendation does not abandon net-zero target
The committee is not recommending that the Government abandon the UK's net-zero commitment.
Its proposal concerns the language used to describe the energy transition and the name of the government department responsible for energy policy.
The UK's statutory target of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 is contained in legislation and would not be affected simply by changing the department's name.
The report instead argues that the Government should separate individual energy policies from what it considers the increasingly politically charged “net zero” label.
Government now expected to respond
The Energy Security and Net Zero Committee's report is a recommendation from a House of Commons select committee rather than a Government decision.
The department therefore remains the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and no renaming has been announced.
The Government will now be expected to consider the report and respond formally to its recommendations.