UK Setting Most Ambitious Climate Target into Law

The UK government announced Tuesday that it will set the world’s most ambitious climate change target into law to reduce emissions by 78 percent by 2035, compared to 1990 levels.

This sixth Carbon Budget limits the volume of greenhouse gases emitted over a five-year period from 2033 to 2037 and incorporates the UK’s share of international aviation and shipping emissions for the first time. The new target will become enshrined in law by the end of June, the government noted.

The government said the UK over-achieved against its first and second Carbon Budgets and that the country is on track to outperform the third Carbon Budget which ends in 2022. This is said to be due to significant cuts in greenhouse gases across the economy and industry.

“We want to continue to raise the bar on tackling climate change, and that’s why we’re setting the most ambitious target to cut emissions in the world,” UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a government statement.

“The UK will be home to pioneering businesses, new technologies, and green innovation as we make progress to net zero emissions, laying the foundations for decades of economic growth in a way that creates thousands of jobs,” he added.

“We want to see world leaders follow our lead and match our ambition in the run up to the crucial climate summit COP26, as we will only build back greener and protect our planet if we come together to take action,” Johnson continued.

Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said “the UK is leading the world in tackling climate change”.

“The targets we’ve set ourselves in the sixth Carbon Budget will see us go further and faster than any other major economy to achieve a completely carbon neutral future,” he added.

“This latest target shows the world that the UK is serious about protecting the health of our planet, while also seizing the new economic opportunities it will bring and capitalizing on green technologies – yet another step as we build back greener from the pandemic and we lead the world towards a cleaner, more prosperous future for this generation and those to come,” Kwarteng went on to say.

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com