A CITIZENS’ assembly tasked with making the tough decisions required for Britain to achieve net zero carbon emissions does not go far enough, climate activists have warned. 

The assembly, of 110 participants selected to match the profile of the British population in age, ethnicity and other factors, will convene for the first time this weekend. 

It will discuss how the government should go about eliminating net carbon emissions by 2050: though that target has been enshrined in law, no plan exists for its achievement. 

However, Extinction Rebellion (XR) has raised concerns that the assembly’s remit is too restricted.

Despite warnings that 2050 could be too late to avert catastrophic climate change, the body has no power to move the deadline forward. 

XR said in a statement that “2050 gives us a 50/50 chance of keeping warming under 1.5 degrees.

“We are only just beginning to experience what one degree feels like. The human race deserves better odds than this.”

The group also pointed out that the government will not be bound by the Climate Assembly’s decisions, as it was commissioned by back-bench MPs in the previous parliament.