Title: UK net zero target | The Institute for Government
Headings: UK net zero target
UK net zero target
What does ‘net zero' mean?
What are the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions?
20200302 UK emissions time series.png
Why is the government trying to achieve net zero?
What is the legal status of the net-zero target?
Is the 2050 net-zero target feasible?
Which sectors will be most affected by net zero?
20200304 Emissions by sector.png
What are carbon budgets?
20200304 Carbon Budgets.png
Does the UK have to reach its target only though domestic efforts?
What are the costs – and benefits – of reaching net zero by 2050?
Which other countries have set net zero targets?
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Content: The proposed Office for Environmental Protection would have enforcement powers – and the courts have also shown they are willing to intervene where they do not think the government has taken proper account of its climate change commitments. This happened in February 2020, for example, when the UK Court of Appeal ruled that the government’s policy statement in favour of Heathrow expansion was unlawful. [ 7]
Is the 2050 net-zero target feasible? The UK is currently not on track to meet its previous, less ambitious, target of 80% emissions reductions by 2050. The CCC has said that getting to net zero (i.e. meeting the 100% target) is “technically feasible but highly challenging”. [ 8] Doing so will require sustained policy interventions across several sectors – many of which will be complex, costly and time-consuming. And the initial signs are not positive: in its July 2019 progress report, the CCC said the UK government’s policy actions “ [fell] well short of those required for the net-zero target”. [ 9] The UK is also not on track to meet some of its pre-existing future carbon budgets, set before the net-zero target was adopted (more on carbon budgets is found below). The government has announced some policy changes in response, such as bringing forward the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2040, but more is needed. [