The UK can’t sit on its hands waiting for alternative energy sources if it is serious about its net zero ambitions, a leading British fuel tech company said today.

A report carried out by Conservative MP Chris Skidmore said the UK was “falling behind” on some targets and needs a “new approach”.

The report focuses on the economic opportunities of a net zero economy. Mr Skidmore was commissioned by former prime minister Liz Truss to review the government’s delivery of net zero, to ensure it was “pro-growth and pro-business”. 

But, says British fuel tech company SulNOx Group, the Government needs to urgently focus on the health and financial cost of failing to tackle climate change, and that needs action today.

Calling net zero “the growth opportunity of the 21st century”, Mr Skidmore said the UK had to move quickly to reap the economic benefits of achieving the target.

His report sets out long-term goals, as well as 25 actions the government should take in the next two years. These include:

• Legislating to phase out gas boilers by 2033, rather than 2035
• “Eco-labelling” more environmentally friendly foods
• Scrapping planning rules for solar panels
• Providing longer-term funding certainty for major net zero projects, including new nuclear power plants
• Implementing plans this year to increase solar and onshore wind generation, including a target of increasing solar generation fivefold by 2035
• Ending routine oil and gas flaring by 2025, rather than 2030

Nawaz Haq, Executive Director at SulNOx Group, said: “Even the immediate actions recommended in Chris Skidmore’s report will not reap immediate reward for our environment. We are in a climate crisis which is costing thousands of lives every year and costing the country millions of pounds every year. There has been too much talk and not enough action.”

London-based SulNOx Group specialises in providing responsible solutions towards decarbonisation of liquid hydrocarbon fuels. The company, which trades in countries around the world including the USA, France, Germany and much of Africa, has provided evidence of its potential to help in the fight against climate change to the UK government. 

“There is no silver bullet to tackle climate change – it needs all sides working together to achieve the best outcomes,” said Mr Haq. “That means a focus on alternative, clean energy sources, which also bring with them economic benefits, but it also means reducing the impact of existing sources like fossil fuels.

“Like it or not, fossil fuels are not going to disappear overnight, and unless we put as much effort into lessening their impact as we do on finding alternatives, we will never win the race to net zero. Campaigners like Greta Thunberg have even raised concerns that we are putting all of our futures in the hands of technologies that don’t yet exist at scale.”