Call to suspend drive to carbon neutrality during Ukraine war

Friday 11 March 2022

A Senator wants the Government to put its drive to net-zero carbon emissions on ice until the war in Ukraine is over.

Senator Sarah Ferguson wants to see the ‘Carbon Neutral Roadmap’ – which was lodged this week for debate on 25 April – suspended until hostilities and the subsequent uncertainty, such as soaring oil and gas prices, have been resolved.

The Roadmap charts a course to Jersey balancing the amount of carbon it emits with the amount it can absorb by 2050.

In the short-term, it proposes spending a £23m pot already established on a range of measures, including providing electric vehicle subsidies, a ‘scrappage credit’ and helping households move from gas to electric boilers.

Senator Ferguson said: “We already have lower income families and pensioners who are starting to feel the pinch and some who are already in fuel poverty.

“The increase in costs will also detrimentally affect local businesses, especially the 70% of companies which are small businesses.

“Both these families and businesses will find it difficult to afford electric vehicles while the provision of additional charging outlets will be expensive. It will also be a factor in increasing electricity prices.

“Given that increasing taxes will also be extremely difficult in the general economic climate, the ‘Net Zero’ Policies should be restrained until the international situation is resolved.”

She adds that the suspension would not only provide support to low income families but also give the Government an opportunity to make more accurate calculations of the costs of the policy, which has been estimated at £250m between now and 2050.

Senator Ferguson has long been vocal in her suspicion of human-influenced climate change, calling it “pseudo-scientific dogma” during the last Island Plan debate.