MoD should be more ambitious in decarbonisation plans, MPs say

The department accounts for 50% of the Government’s emissions and its targets are ‘insufficiently demanding’, the Defence Committee said.

The MoD must take stronger action to help tackle climate change, MPs said (Ben Birchall/PA) (PA Archive)

The MoD should be more ambitious with its decarbonisation plans and could do much more to cut carbon emissions without sacrificing military efficiency, the Defence Committee has said.

Despite accounting for half of the Government’s overall emissions, the MoD has less ambitious targets than any other department, MPs wrote.

It aims to reduce its emissions by 30% by 2025 but this could be achieved by relying solely on decarbonisation of the power grid.

In a new report called Defence And Climate Change, the committee said these targets are “insufficiently demanding” and is calling on the MoD to adopt a much more ambitious strategy for the next round of Greening Government Commitment (GGC) targets between 2026 and 2030.

Only the RAF has adequate plans, the committee said, with aims to become net zero by 2040 – 10 years ahead of the Government’s 2050 target.

Sitting back and doing nothing cannot be a valid option for such a high-emitting area of Government

Tobias Ellwood, Defence Committee chairman

The chairman of the Defence Committee, Tobias Ellwood, said: “The scientific consensus on climate change is clear and overwhelming: we must reduce carbon emissions dramatically and quickly.

“While we welcome the progress that has been made so far, our report finds that there is much more that the MoD can do to play its part.

“Maintaining the UK’s military capabilities must be given primacy and cannot be subject to compromise. However, the MoD must not hide behind maintaining capabilities as an excuse to avoid making progress elsewhere.”

The Defence Committee wants the MoD to report its emissions more transparently and for those figures to be independently verified.

They said it should also broaden the scope of the emissions it measures and controls – GGC targets do not include accommodation used by service members and their families or fuel used – and appoint a climate change director to oversee decarbonisation efforts across separate organisations.