UK Business Leaders Demand Commitment to Net Zero Emissions by 2050

More than 120 British businesses, investors and lobby groups penned a letter to outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May Thursday, asking her to make a commitment to cut the country’s emissions to net zero by 2050. It’s a bold climate goal that, if passed, would be one of her most important acts before she leaves office.

According to the Financial Times, putting it into law would require the PM to introduce a “statutory instrument,” a form of secondary legislation, to tweak the existing 2008 Climate Change Act. That would then require a simple majority vote in both houses of parliament

The group of signees said that to become a net zero country, the government will need to devise plans to clean up UK heating systems, deliver the infrastructure for carbon capture and storage technology, and start large scale trials of hydrogen power.

However, according to CNN, experts are warning that current policies are not tough enough to allow the country to meet the target. In fact, the United Kingdom is not even on track hit the intermediate goals it set for itself for the period between 2023 and 2032.

Companies that signed the letter include Unilever, Siemens, Shell and Nestle, among others.