Early reports suggest that the Government will be adopting new climate targets that would be one of the world’s most ambitious.

Reports cite the Government as having accepted the recommendation of the Climate Change Committee (CCC) to set a legally binding goal of cutting carbon emissions 87 per cent by 2040 under the seventh carbon budget (CB7).

CB7 would see a limit on the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions over the five-year period 2038 to 2042, at 535 MtCO2e, including emissions from international aviation and shipping.

Key to this, the CCC sees electrification and low-carbon electricity supply as a way forward as these make up the largest share of emissions reductions in its pathway, 60 per cent by 2040. It assesses that to meet this, the roll-out rates required for the uptake of electric vehicles (EVs), heat pumps, and renewables are similar to those previously achieved for mass-market roll-outs of mobile phones, refrigerators, and internet connections.

CCC estimate that the net costs of net-zero will be around 0.2 per cent of UK GDP per year on average in its pathway, with investment upfront leading to net savings during the CB7 period, with much of this investment expected to come from the private sector.

Peter Chalkley, director of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) said: "In the heat of the debate, the critical point that politicians will likely miss out is why net-zero in the first place. It was British scientists who described the need to stop adding ever more emissions to the atmosphere, to reach net-zero emissions in order to bring our climate back into balance and stop climate change.”

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