The Climate Change Committee (CCC) has issued guidance to the UK Government recommending an 81% reduction in territorial greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 from 1990 levels, as part of the UK’s next Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).
This advice responds to a request from Ed Miliband, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, and is informed by current scientific research, technological advances, and the UK’s specific environmental and economic context.
The recommendation is intended to align with the targets set in the UK’s Seventh Carbon Budget, which the CCC plans to publish in February 2025.
Professor Piers Forster, interim Chair of the Climate Change Committee, said: “With climate damages already felt around the world, targeting an 81% emissions reduction by 2035 sets the right level of ambition.
“Our analysis shows this can be achieved in a way that benefits jobs and the economy, provided we hit the country’s 2030 target – set in line with the CCC’s advice in 2020.
“The technologies needed to achieve it are available, at a competitive price, today. Investment in low carbon technologies – electric vehicles, heat pumps, and renewables – needs to come now for this target to be achievable.
“Businesses will start to invest when they have confidence in what the Government’s long term policy plans are. We need to see the Government’s commitment to climate reflected in the upcoming Budget.”
