Warning for May over expense of more ambitious greenhouse gas target

Britain's anticipated new target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to "net zero" by 2050 would cost the nation more than 1 trillion pounds ($1.27 trillion), according to a warning from the United Kingdom's minister in charge of economic and financial matters.

In a letter from the chancellor of the exchequer to Prime Minister Theresa May, Philip Hammond says the high cost of hitting the target would mean less money for hospitals, schools, the police, and other public services.

The Financial Times reported on Thursday that Hammond wrote his letter in response to the prime minister's apparent intention of introducing legislation in Parliament next week that will curtail greenhouse gas production. The FT said she sees the ambitious target as"one of her most important legacies".

The Committee on Climate Change, an independent adviser to the government on climate change issues, recommended the 2050 target last month and estimated it would cost 50 billion pounds a year to achieve. But the FT said the government's Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy crunched the numbers and believes the target would actually cost 70 billion pounds a year.

Hammond wrote: "On the basis of these estimates, the total cost of transitioning to a zero-carbon economy is likely to be well in excess of £1tn."

He said the new target would also make some of the UK's industries "economically uncompetitive" in comparison to those in nations that do not have similar environmental targets.

The BBC's assistant political editor, Norman Smith, said Hammond is concerned about the cost of initiatives that would be necessary to achieve the new, tougher target, such as subsidies and tax breaks aimed at getting consumers to change their energy-using habits, install better insulation in homes, and replace old, inefficient household appliances. People would also need to replace petrol and diesel cars with electric vehicles. And the nation would have to plant a lot of trees that would produce oxygen to offset the greenhouse gases that the nation continued to produce.

The chancellor reportedly asked May to ask the Treasury to look for ways to minimize the cost to the taxpayer of the new target.

Currently, the UK has set itself the target of reducing emissions by 80 percent by the year 2050 but May is expected to call for the more ambitious target next week.

While many environmental organizations have welcomed the prospect of a tougher target, other groups want more.

Extinction Rebellion, the environmental organization that led huge demonstrations in London in April, says the government should aim to hit the net zero emissions target by 2025 instead of 2050.