Climate recommendations? No stress. It’s easy to achieve them at home

You might have heard some scaremongering this week about how the climate fight is coming into your home and that it’s about to force compulsory veganism on you. That’s because the Climate Change Committee has released new recommendations on how the country can continue cutting emissions over the next 15 years, pushing ahead slightly faster than before. That means changes in how Britons heat their homes, drive, and eat.

While the prospect sounds daunting, in reality, the committee’s recommendations aren’t radical. They’re based on existing trends, technological improvements, and policies that have already been in motion for years. If anything, the next 15 years will see a transition that is cheaper, cleaner, and more convenient – one that will leave most people with better cars, lower energy bills, and more food choices, not fewer.

Since 1990, the UK has halved its emissions, and you may not have even noticed. In its new advisory, the committee is suggesting that with an upfront investment of 0.2 per cent of GDP per year, emissions could drop by an additional three-quarters by 2040. Over 60 per cent of this emissions cut comes from new renewable energy supply and electrification. Wind power will need to triple, and solar power will have to grow five-fold, matching the pace of past technology rollouts like mobile phones and the internet.

This rollout will be critical to decarbonising not only industry but your emissions, in what could be an exciting 15-year transition for us all, full of new choices and opportunities. As Baroness Bryony Worthington argued this week, the committee’s recommendations are “designed to give the government options, not restrict choice”.

But before looking ahead, think back to 2010. The iPhone 4 had just launched, Instagram was brand new, and a 15-year-old Justin Bieber had just released “Baby”. At the time, few people imagined how much smartphones and social media would transform daily life.

Fast forward to today, and those shifts feel completely normal. Can you imagine going into an Apple shop and asking for an iPhone 4 today? In the same way, many of the changes the Climate Change Committee is recommending – heat pumps, electric cars, and lower-carbon diets – will likely become second nature in the next decade.

So with that out of the way, let’s dive into your no-stress guide to the committee’s energy transition, and what it actually says about how you heat your home, what you drive, and what you eat.

One of the key recommendations is that by 2040, “around half of homes in the UK will be heated using a heat pump”. That’s a big ask, as only 1 per cent of homes already have one, but remember, it’s also 15 years away. Right now, two-thirds of British homes use gas boilers to heat their homes. These have a natural lifespan of about 15 years. If you’ve got one now, you’ll need to replace it at some point. The committee isn’t saying you should go out and fix something that ain’t broke. It’s just saying that when yours breaks, a heat pump would be “three to four times more efficient” and “should lead to lower household energy bills” over time. If you can’t afford it, no stress, as prices are projected to drop by more than 30 per cent as more products come to market and more tradies learn how to install them.

When it comes to cars, the committee is projecting that we’ll drive more but is hoping that three-quarters of the cars on the road by 2040 will be electric. That’s a big jump from the estimated 4 per cent of cars on the road right now, but the market is shifting dramatically. Last year, about one-fifth of new car registrations were battery-electric vehicles – and not just expensive Teslas. There are now plenty of new EVs on the road in that cost-competitive ?20,000-?25,000 range, offering up to 200 miles on a single ?10 charge. Right now, most of the nearly 34 million cars across the UK are more than 12 years old and, as these cars naturally age out, there is a great opportunity for millions of British households to simply get a better, electric, car.

What’s more, the price barrier will be way lower once the secondhand EV market revs up. It grew by more than 50 per cent last year and should become a real option for many households soon. When paired with a recommended five-fold increase in electric charging stations across the UK, both price and range anxiety may soon be things of the past. As Australian energy analyst Simon Holmes à Court recently stated: “The most people should observe about the energy transition is that they will drive a better car.”

Now, let’s get to what you eat. If you’re interested in reducing the climate impact on your plate, you’re welcome to go veggie, but the easiest first step isn’t eating less meat – it’s eating less beef.

Believe it or not, you’re probably already doing it. Most Brits already eat 54 per cent less beef than their parents did in the 1970s. This trend is great for the climate as a kilogram of beef has about twice the carbon footprint of chicken or pork. Save the steak for special occasions and you’ll be well on your way to reducing the emissions on your plate. Another no-stress solution is to try more Asian food. Swap out a roast chicken dinner for a butter chicken curry, and you’ll likely reduce your meat consumption by more than 75 per cent in a single plate. Do that a few more times per week, and you and your family will be well on your way to the meat consumption reductions the committee is looking for.

You’ll probably eat better meat, too. More than 60 per cent of the meat Brits currently eat is processed sandwich ham, mince and sausages for quick midweek lunches and dinners. But what if you want to take it further? The best solution is likely going to be the one you and your family can keep up and enjoy. My own favourite is to keep meat for the weekends. I call myself a “meat weekender”. It will reduce your climate impact dramatically, and you can still eat whatever you want at your friend’s place on Saturday. So that’s it. Swap out the beef, toss the sandwich ham and try something new this weekend. When your gas boiler goes bust, go for a heat pump, and trade in your car for a better EV when you’re ready. No stress.