UK climate plan lacking in key details

The European commission has said that the current climate action plan, actioned by the UK government, is ‘unclear’ and lacks key details about how the UK will reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the next 12 years.

The commission used a report on UK climate policy to stress that British targets exceeded EU requirements, but warned that key details were missing from the plan, such as boosting renewable energy and cutting subsidies for fossil fuels. It said the UK ‘would likely’ achieve a target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 37 per cent by 2030 (compared with 2005) for non-industrial parts of the economy.

But further clarity is needed if the UK was to meet a more demanding emissions-reduction target, namely the British contribution to an EU-wide target of cutting emissions by 40 per cent by 2030 against 1990 levels. The commission also noted that the UK had not provided any information on its contribution to EU-wide plans to boost renewable energy and energy efficiency by 2030.

Gareth Redmond King, WWF head of climate change, said: “The UK is the first major economy to put a net-zero emissions target by 2050 into law. This is a crucial first step to address the climate emergency, but now we have to put ambition into action. As has been highlighted today by the EU commission the government must now accelerate delivery of the policies and resource needed to slash our emissions.”