The government is set to fall 80% short of its main climate target

josh jackman
Written By
Updated on 7 December 2021

The UK government is set to fall spectacularly short of achieving its main goal for cutting carbon emissions, according to the independent Climate Change Committee (CCC).

In April, Boris Johnson’s government agreed to set into law the CCC’s Sixth Carbon Budget recommendation to cut CO2e* by 78% of 1990 levels, by 2035.

This ambitious target is an important step towards reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050, and avoiding the worst social and economic consequences of climate change.

But in its latest report, the CCC stated that “credible policies for delivery currently cover only around 20% of the required reduction in emissions to meet the Sixth Carbon Budget.”

* carbon dioxide equivalent, a measurement that converts all greenhouse emissions into CO2 terms

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The report accused the government of failing to back up its world-leading rhetoric and aims with actions.

In a joint foreword, CCC leaders Lord Deben and Baroness Brown said the government’s “willingness to set emissions targets of genuine ambition contrasts with a reluctance to implement the realistic policies necessary to achieve them.”

The report explained: “Not one of the 34 priority areas assessed in this year’s progress report on adaptation is yet demonstrating strong progress in adapting to climate risk.”

In 2019, the UK became the first nation to enshrine a net-zero target in law.

Since then, the government has abolished the 18-month-long Green Homes Grant after six months of shoddy implementation, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, it pledged £14.2 billion more to the fossil fuel industry than green energy.

Yes – but the government would have to cut the country’s emissions by an average of 15.7 million tonnes per year to achieve its 2035 goal.

In the 11 years since the Conservatives were voted into government, the nation’s carbon emissions have fallen at a rate of 13.8 million tonnes per year.

This has allowed the UK to cut 48.8% of its 1990 emissions level – but the pace of change must now be increased.

And according to the CCC, the government has failed to put policies in place to cut the last 29.2%.

Lord Deben and Baroness Brown wrote: “We continue to blunder into high-carbon choices.

“Our planning system and other fundamental structures have not been recast to meet our legal and international climate commitments.”

Written by

josh jackman

Josh has written about and reported on eco-friendly home improvements and climate change for the past four years.

His data-driven work has featured on the front page of the Financial Times and in publications including The Independent, Telegraph, Times, Sun, Daily Express, and Fox News, earned him the position of resident expert in BT's smart home tech initiative, and been referenced in official United Nations and World Health Organisation documents.

He’s also been interviewed on BBC One's Rip-Off Britain, BBC Radio 4, and BBC Radio 5 Live as an expert on everything from renewable energy to government policy and space travel's carbon footprint, and regularly attends Grand Designs Live as a Green Living Expert, giving bespoke advice to members of the public about heat pumps and solar panels.

Josh has also used the journalistic skills he developed at The Jewish Chronicle and PinkNews to investigate and analyse every green government grant in existence, and examine the impact on the climate of cryptocurrency, Glastonbury Festival, and the World Cup.

You can get in touch with Josh via email.

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