Never mind the planet's fate when the jet set feel the urge to seek out some winter sun

Self-denial will save the Earth, we're told. But big emitters seemingly haven't had the memo

- Catherine Bennett

That I fully expect to be dead by the time the UK achieves net zero is, of course, no reason to dodge interim advice from the Climate Change Committee (CCC), the UK's official climate authority. Its latest report to government is of particular interest to the public, in arguing that a third of the emissions cuts required to achieve net zero by 2050 will have to come from consumers themselves.

Unless we - individual households - accept heat pumps and electric cars and deterrents to flying and less meat (skipping two kebabs per week), the CCC explains, the target cannot be met. And assuming the introduction of a selective news blackout that reduces public awareness of UK plutocrats, celebrities and influencers with colossal carbon footprints, such a behavioural transformation may not be impossible.

In the more likely event of continued media indulgence for the UK's highest-status emitters, sustained general cooperation may be more optimistic.

For as long as, say, Carrie Johnson sees no reason not to disseminate images of her family's strenuous holidaymaking in distant places - last month Saudi Arabia - the much less frequent flyers being urged by the CCC to adapt to net zero will be exposed to powerfully contradictory, even compliance-crushing, messages. Including, in this case, that a "dream" stay in Saudi's St Regis Red Sea resort - accessible only by seaplane or speedboat - is compatible with a reputation as an environmentalist. Just a few years ago, Mrs Johnson was extremely exercised by single-use straws. Saudi Arabia's actions to combat climate change, to which it is exceptionally exposed, were recently rated as "critically insufficient".