U.K. Sees Net-Zero Technology Cost at 1%-2% of GDP in 2050 (1)

The U.K. push to neutralize carbon emissions by mid-century will cost as much as 2% of economic output in 2050 and put a hole in tax revenues, the government said, signaling it would be more expensive to do nothing.

The government will need to expand carbon pricing, though even that won’t be enough to offset the loss of tax revenue caused by phasing out fossil fuels, the Treasury said Tuesday in its Net Zero Review, designed to analyze the economic trade-offs in the 30-year transition toward carbon neutrality. The estimated loss of income from fuel duty and vehicle excise ...