Post: UK unveils Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan

UK unveils Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan

The government has said it will go “all in” on clean energy and climate policy, the energy secretary has said, as he unveiled plans to put the UK back on track to reach its net zero commitments.

In a ministerial forward to the plan, energy secretary Ed Miliband said: “By driving towards our carbon budgets, we will increase our energy security and lower bills, create good, well-paid jobs with strong trade unions and boost innovation, exports and economic growth”.

The Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan, published on 29 October, brings together the government’s actions and intent to meet carbon budgets 4-6, from 2023-37. These budgets constitute greenhouse gas emission reductions and have caps of 1,950Mt of CO2 (Carbon Budget 4), 1,725Mt of CO2 (Carbon Budget 5) and 965Mt of CO2 (Carbon Budget 6). The cap for Carbon Budget 6 constitutes a 77% reduction in emissions compared with 1990.

The core of the government’s plans are:

• Investing in clean energy to deliver energy security and lower bills: the government is investing in renewable and nuclear energy to get the UK off the “rollercoaster of fossil fuel prices and onto clean, homegrown power it controls, protecting the British people and building a system that can bring down bills for good”  
• 400,000 extra jobs by 2030: The government recently announced a national plan to recruit the workers needed for the clean energy mission, with over 400,000 extra jobs by 2030. From Sizewell C in East Anglia, to wind turbine manufacturing in Hull, carbon capture in the North West and North East, and ports in Wales and Scotland
• Warmer homes: upgrading homes for 5M families through the Warm Homes Plan. This will provide support for families to switch to low carbon heating to cut their bills and have warmer homes, including with higher standards of insulation and rooftop solar
• Cleaner air: the plan will help make the air cleaner across the country, leading to better health and a higher quality of life for people now and in the future

What are Carbon Budgets?

Carbon budgets are five-year caps on emissions levels set under the Climate Change Act 2008.

They are cross-economy targets with the flexibility to deliver across sectors, and are expressed in million tonnes of CO2 equivalent (MtCO2e). This means some policies target greenhouse gases such as methane and F-gases, which are measured in MtCO2e.

Carbon budgets are set 12 years in advance. Carbon Budget 6 (2033-37) was set in 2021 and the Carbon Budget 7 (2038-42) level will need to be set by June 2026. The UK is currently in the fourth carbon budget, which runs 2023-27.