The Climate Change Act became UK Law on the 26th November 2008. This legislation introduced a new, more ambitious and legally binding target for the UK to reduce GHG emissions to 80% below base year by 2050, with legally binding five year GHG budgets. The independent Committee on Climate Change (CCC) was set up to advise the UK Government on the setting and meeting of UK carbon budgets as well as monitoring progress against them scope and level of UK carbon budgets.
The Climate Change Act was amended in 2019 to revise the greenhouse gas emission reduction target for 2050 from 80% to 100%, i.e. net-zero.
Get data on Carbon Budgets (gov.uk website)
Countries that have signed and ratified the Paris Agreement are asked to declare a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) every 5 years, where countries set out what targets they intend to meet to contribute to mitigating climate change, and information on how the country plans to achieve those targets.
The UK’s first NDC commits the UK to reducing economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions by at least 68% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. For its second NDC, the UK has committed to reduce total net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 81% in 2035, compared to 1990 levels.
Up until 2020, the UK had emissions reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC. The UK, collectively with the EU, met its emissions reduction targets under the First Commitment Period (2008-12) and Second Commitment Period (2013-20). For further information, see the UK’s 2022 National Inventory Report.
Further information on the UK's action to tackle climate change can be found on the DESNZ website.