Lord Foster of Bath

We will publish estimates of the emissions savings from future and developing policies by October 2025. These will cover all sectors of the economy out to the end of Carbon Budget 6 in 2037.

The UK’s Climate Change Committee (CCC) has no statutory responsibilities in relation to the NDC. However, to benefit from its independent expertise, the Secretary of State wrote to the CCC to request guidance on the UK’s 2035 nationally determined contribution (NDC). The CCC's guidance was published in October 2024 and included the recommendation that the UK’s NDC commit to a reduction in territorial greenhouse emissions of 81% from 1990 to 2035. The CCC advised that this target would be consistent with the emissions reductions required to meet the UK’s legally binding Sixth Carbon Budget (2033-2037). This guidance did not include any advice on making the 2035 NDC binding in law.

In December 2020, the UK’s Committee on Climate Change (CCC) presented a report to the Secretary of State entitled “The Sixth Carbon Budget: The UK’s Path to Net Zero.” This report, a statutory obligation under Section 34 of the Climate Change Act, included recommendations for the UK’s Sixth Carbon Budget, set to run from 2033 to 2037. In the report, the CCC noted that “it is for the Government to decide whether the currently legislated budgets [the fourth and fifth, covering 2023-2027 and 2028-32] should be amended to bring them in line with the Net Zero 2050 target, however the Committee does not consider it necessary to change the budget level in law – the focus should be on developing policy to deliver the new Sixth Carbon Budget and the UK’s NDC for 2030.” We will deliver an updated plan that sets out the policy package out to the end of Carbon Budget 6 in 2037 for all the sectors in due course.

The UK’s 2030 nationally determined contribution - to reduce economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions by at least 68% on 1990 levels – represents an increase in ambition on the UK’s fifth carbon budget, which covers the period 2028-2032. The UK will need to overachieve on the fifth carbon budget to meet the 2030 NDC and stay on track for the sixth carbon budget. In its advice to Government on the setting of the UK’s sixth carbon budget, the Climate Change Committee advised that it did not consider it necessary for Government to reset existing targets, and instead advised that once the 2030 NDC and sixth carbon budget were set on the path to net zero, that these would provide a clear target for UK emissions reductions.

The Government will deliver an updated Carbon Budget Delivery that sets out the policy package out to the end of Carbon Budget 6 in 2037 for all the sectors, in due course. This will outline the policies and proposals needed to deliver carbon budgets 4-6 on a pathway to net zero.

Looking ahead, we will set Carbon Budget 7 by June 2026, in line with our statutory duties. This will set out the next phase of our pathway to net zero and policies to further decarbonise the UK economy.

The UK’s 2030 NDC target – to reduce economy wide greenhouse gas emissions by at least 68% on 1990 levels – is a fair and ambitious contribution to global action on climate change, in line with the Paris Agreement temperature goal, and remains in place.

The Government will deliver an updated Carbon Budget Delivery that sets out the policy package out to the end of Carbon Budget 6 in 2037 for all the sectors, in due course. This will outline the policies and proposals needed to deliver carbon budgets 4-6 on a pathway to net zero.

Looking ahead, we will set Carbon Budget 7 by June 2026, in line with our statutory duties. This will set out the next phase of our pathway to net zero and policies to further decarbonise the UK economy.

The figures below show the Government’s latest published projections for the UK’s territorial emissions in 2030 in million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e), first excluding and then including emissions from International Aviation and Shipping (IAS). These estimates do not take account of future policies or those currently under development, which the Government expects will lead to lower emissions than those reported below.

2030

Terrestrial emissions excluding IAS 327

Terrestrial emissions including IAS 371

The Government publishes estimates of embedded emissions from imported goods in ‘UK and England's carbon footprint to 2021’. However, projections of these emissions are not available.

The UK’s 2030 nationally determined contribution - to reduce economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions by at least 68% on 1990s levels – is a fair and ambitious contribution to global action on climate change and is in line with the Paris agreement temperature goal. The 2030 NDC was aligned with the advice of the independent Climate Change Committee (CCC) and built on the foundations of well-established UK analysis and policy development for domestic climate change mitigation. We do not consider it necessary to implement new legislation to bring the UK's 2030 NDC into domestic law because of its alignment with the existing, legally-binding carbon budgets framework.

The fifth carbon budget was set in 2016, when the UK’s legal target was to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% on 1990 levels. The Climate Change Act 2008 was amended in 2019 to strengthen the 2050 target to net zero. The UK's 2030 nationally determined contribution to reduce emissions by at least 68% on 1990 levels was set in 2020 to align with the trajectory to achieve net zero by 2050.

The Government will publish a report setting out its plan to meet carbon budgets in due course. This will set out the policies and proposals needed to meet Carbon Budgets 4-6 and the 2030 and 2035 NDC targets.

The UK’s 2030 and 2035 nationally determined contributions are fair and ambitious contributions to global action on climate change, in line with the Paris Agreement temperature goal. NDCs are international communications of ambition required to be communicated under the Paris Agreement, a treaty under international law. Alongside our international commitments, the UK was the first country to introduce a legally binding, long-term emissions reduction target under the Climate Change Act 2008. This framework includes the UK’s legislated 2050 net zero target, which the Climate Change Committee has confirmed is consistent with the trajectories of the UK’s 2030 and 2035 NDCs.

UK’s current and next carbon budgets are set on a territorial basis as follows:

• Carbon Budget 4 (2023-2027) limits UK net territorial greenhouse gas emissions to 1,950 MtCO₂e over the period.
• Carbon Budget 5 (2028-2032) limits UK net territorial greenhouse gas emissions to 1,725 MtCO₂e over the period.

Carbon Budget 6 (2033-2037) includes emissions from international aviation and shipping and is set at 965 MtCO₂e over the period.

The Carbon Budget levels have been set in line with advice from the independent Climate Change Committee.

The Government will lay a report before Parliament next year, setting out its plans for meeting UK emissions targets up to the end of carbon budget 6 in 2037 - this will set out the forecast emissions savings associated with specific policies and proposals.

The Government's position is consistent with evidence from the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessments, which state that every increment of warming increases the impacts and risks of climate change, including the likelihood of triggering climate tipping points, especially above 1.5 degrees Celsius. We are already seeing the impacts of climate change globally and domestically and further warming will worsen this. This is why the Government committed to an ambitious 1.5C-aligned emissions reduction target at COP29 last month and is encouraging other countries to do the same.

The UK’s 2030 nationally determined contribution – to reduce economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions by at least 68% on 1990s levels – is a fair and ambitious contribution to global action on climate change, in line with the Paris Agreement temperature goal. NDCs are international communications of ambition under the Paris Agreement, submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Alongside our international commitments, the UK was the first country to introduce a legally binding, long-term emissions reduction target under the Climate Change Act 2008. This framework includes the UK’s legislated 2050 net zero target, which the Climate Change Committee has confirmed is consistent with the trajectory of the UK’s 2030 NDC.

The Climate Change Act made the UK the first country to introduce a legally binding, long-term emissions reduction target. This sets our commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050 in law. As advised by the UK’s Committee on Climate Change in June 2019 and December 2020, this target aligns with the published pathways from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for meeting the Paris Agreement’s long-term temperature goal of 1.5°C.

The Climate Change Act made the UK the first country to introduce a legally binding, long-term emissions reduction target. This sets our commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050 in law.

We are committed to our targets, and by setting carbon budgets 12 years ahead, we have given both business and the public certainty on carbon budgets. This has also provided a clear framework for the private sector to invest and innovate.

There is strong public support for climate action from Government. We will continue to work with all stakeholders including businesses, local authorities, civil society and investors to meet our net zero targets.

The Paris Agreement holds governments to account for their obligations through transparency and review mechanisms, which can result in reputational damage and international pressure for non-compliance. These mechanisms include the NDC Synthesis Report, which identifies progress made globally against Parties’ Nationally Determined Contributions; the Enhanced Transparency Framework, which requires Parties to report transparently on action taken and progress made; and the Global Stocktake, which requires Parties to periodically take stock of the implementation of their mitigation commitments. Additionally, Parties must provide information necessary to track progress in implementing and achieving their NDCs and participate in the facilitative multilateral consideration of progress, which involves a technical expert review. The Paris Agreement also has a mechanism to facilitate the implementation of and promote compliance with the Agreement. This is supported by an expert Committee which is non-adversarial and non-punitive.

Yes. We are finalising the research findings and will publish a report in due course.

The Minister for Gambling and Heritage met with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in December 2024. However, sponsorship of this kind is not within the remit of the ASA, whose CAP Code includes a specific exclusion for ‘sponsorship’.

However, we regularly engage with the Gambling Commission on this issue. The Commission has been clear that sports organisations must diligently and continuously ensure that they are not advertising illegal gambling. Under current rules, sports organisations who engage in sponsoring and advertising arrangements with unlicensed gambling operators are at serious risk of committing the offence of advertising unlawful gambling under Section 330 of the Gambling Act 2005. The Commission has warned relevant club officials that they may be liable to prosecution and, if convicted, face a fine, imprisonment or both if they promote unlicensed gambling businesses that transact with consumers in Great Britain. The Commission is taking active steps to monitor online gambling activity for these unlicensed brands and to ensure they are blocked and inaccessible to consumers in Great Britain, and will take steps as necessary.

We recognise that, as noted in the Gambling Commission’s 2023 advice to the Gambling Act Review, there are gambling premises which are licensed solely as bingo venues, where gaming machines take up most of the floor space and which can give the appearance to consumers of being adult gaming centres.

As set out in the Gambling Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice, in licensed bingo premises, gaming machines may only be made available for use where there are also substantive facilities for non-remote bingo available in the premises. Non-remote bingo licensees must also ensure that the function and presentation of their premises are such that a customer can reasonably be expected to recognise that it is a premises licensed for the purposes of providing bingo facilities. These are conditions of non-remote bingo licences. We are reviewing the current licensing regime for bingo venues, and we intend to consult on changes in due course.

Self-exclusion is an important tool to support customers at risk of gambling harms. As set out in the Gambling Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice, all remote and non-remote operators must have self-exclusion arrangements in place and participate in a multi-operator self-exclusion scheme. Compliance is a condition of licences and any breach may lead the Gambling Commission to review an operator’s licence.

Compliance with self-exclusion schemes, such as GAMSTOP, is very high amongst remote gambling operators. In addition, a new, voluntary exclusion scheme, GamProtect, was launched by four of the largest operators last year and is being rolled out across the remote industry. This tool provides a single customer view of the most vulnerable customers across participating operators, ensuring they can be quickly and effectively excluded from harmful gambling without self referral.

We are aware that there are concerns about adherence to self-exclusion requirements in the adult gaming centre sector. We are seeking further assurance on how the sector is addressing these concerns. We will continue to work with our stakeholders, including the Gambling Commission and the gambling sector, to strengthen player protections.

The Government is committed to consulting the best available evidence on the impact of advertising from a wide range of sources when assessing best next steps in this space. Additionally, developing quality evidence is a key priority for the statutory levy, and up to 20% of funding will be directed towards high-quality, independent research to fill gaps in the evidence base, including on the impacts of gambling advertising. We will continue to monitor developments in the evidence and take action where appropriate.

The Government currently has no plans to conduct an independent review on the impacts of gambling advertising. As part of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Review of the Gambling Act 2005, an extensive call for evidence was conducted which included a range of questions on evidence on gambling advertising and its impacts.

The Government is committed to consulting the best available evidence on the impact of advertising from a wide range of sources when assessing best next steps in this space. Additionally, developing quality evidence is a key priority for the statutory levy, and up to 20% of funding will be directed towards high-quality, independent research to fill gaps in the evidence base, including on the impacts of gambling advertising. We will continue to monitor developments in the evidence and take action where appropriate.

The Government currently has no plans to conduct an independent review on the impacts of gambling advertising. As part of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Review of the Gambling Act 2005, an extensive call for evidence was conducted which included a range of questions on evidence on gambling advertising and its impacts.

This Government recognises that gambling advertising can have a disproportionate impact on particular groups, such as children and vulnerable people. This is why there are robust rules on content, tone and placement enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). Gambling operators must ensure that their advertising is not targeted at children and must not appear in media created for children or for which children make up 25% or more of the audience, including video games. Operators must also ensure that they take all reasonable steps to use data available to exclude individuals on the basis of their age or other relevant criteria. Compliance with these rules is required as part of the Gambling Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP). The ASA continues to closely monitor and enforce compliance but, if needed, can refer gambling operators’ advertising to the Gambling Commission which can and does take action.

The Department has not had any recent conversations with Apple regarding gambling advertising. However, we recognise that more can be done to improve protections. We have set the gambling industry a clear task to raise standards and this work will be monitored closely.

We are committed to ensuring video games are enjoyed safely and responsibly by everyone and that, where they contain loot boxes, appropriate protections are in place for players of all ages, including children. In 2020, the previous Government ran a call for evidence on loot boxes which found an association between purchasing loot boxes and problem gambling behaviours, although research has not established whether a causal link exists.

In response, DCMS convened a Technical Working Group of video game representatives which developed new industry-led guidance, published in July 2023, to improve player protections, including making the purchase of loot boxes unavailable to children unless enabled by a parent or guardian. The Government has urged all video games companies to adopt the guidance in full and we have commissioned independent academic research to assess its effectiveness.

This Government recognises that gambling advertising can have a disproportionate impact on particular groups, such as children and vulnerable people. This is why there are robust rules on content, tone and placement enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). Gambling operators must ensure that their advertising is not targeted at children and must not appear in media created for children or for which children make up 25% or more of the audience, including video games. Operators must also ensure that they take all reasonable steps to use data available to exclude individuals on the basis of their age or other relevant criteria. Compliance with these rules is required as part of the Gambling Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP). The ASA continues to closely monitor and enforce compliance but, if needed, can refer gambling operators’ advertising to the Gambling Commission which can and does take action.

The Department has not had any recent conversations with Apple regarding gambling advertising. However, we recognise that more can be done to improve protections. We have set the gambling industry a clear task to raise standards and this work will be monitored closely.

We are committed to ensuring video games are enjoyed safely and responsibly by everyone and that, where they contain loot boxes, appropriate protections are in place for players of all ages, including children. In 2020, the previous Government ran a call for evidence on loot boxes which found an association between purchasing loot boxes and problem gambling behaviours, although research has not established whether a causal link exists.

In response, DCMS convened a Technical Working Group of video game representatives which developed new industry-led guidance, published in July 2023, to improve player protections, including making the purchase of loot boxes unavailable to children unless enabled by a parent or guardian. The Government has urged all video games companies to adopt the guidance in full and we have commissioned independent academic research to assess its effectiveness.

This Government recognises that gambling advertising can have a disproportionate impact on particular groups, such as children and vulnerable people. This is why there are robust rules on content, tone and placement enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). Gambling operators must ensure that their advertising is not targeted at children and must not appear in media created for children or for which children make up 25% or more of the audience, including video games. Operators must also ensure that they take all reasonable steps to use data available to exclude individuals on the basis of their age or other relevant criteria. Compliance with these rules is required as part of the Gambling Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP). The ASA continues to closely monitor and enforce compliance but, if needed, can refer gambling operators’ advertising to the Gambling Commission which can and does take action.

The Department has not had any recent conversations with Apple regarding gambling advertising. However, we recognise that more can be done to improve protections. We have set the gambling industry a clear task to raise standards and this work will be monitored closely.

We are committed to ensuring video games are enjoyed safely and responsibly by everyone and that, where they contain loot boxes, appropriate protections are in place for players of all ages, including children. In 2020, the previous Government ran a call for evidence on loot boxes which found an association between purchasing loot boxes and problem gambling behaviours, although research has not established whether a causal link exists.

In response, DCMS convened a Technical Working Group of video game representatives which developed new industry-led guidance, published in July 2023, to improve player protections, including making the purchase of loot boxes unavailable to children unless enabled by a parent or guardian. The Government has urged all video games companies to adopt the guidance in full and we have commissioned independent academic research to assess its effectiveness.

This Government recognises that gambling advertising can have a disproportionate impact on particular groups, such as children and vulnerable people. This is why there are robust rules on content, tone and placement enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). Gambling operators must ensure that their advertising is not targeted at children and must not appear in media created for children or for which children make up 25% or more of the audience, including video games. Operators must also ensure that they take all reasonable steps to use data available to exclude individuals on the basis of their age or other relevant criteria. Compliance with these rules is required as part of the Gambling Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP). The ASA continues to closely monitor and enforce compliance but, if needed, can refer gambling operators’ advertising to the Gambling Commission which can and does take action.

The Department has not had any recent conversations with Apple regarding gambling advertising. However, we recognise that more can be done to improve protections. We have set the gambling industry a clear task to raise standards and this work will be monitored closely.

We are committed to ensuring video games are enjoyed safely and responsibly by everyone and that, where they contain loot boxes, appropriate protections are in place for players of all ages, including children. In 2020, the previous Government ran a call for evidence on loot boxes which found an association between purchasing loot boxes and problem gambling behaviours, although research has not established whether a causal link exists.

In response, DCMS convened a Technical Working Group of video game representatives which developed new industry-led guidance, published in July 2023, to improve player protections, including making the purchase of loot boxes unavailable to children unless enabled by a parent or guardian. The Government has urged all video games companies to adopt the guidance in full and we have commissioned independent academic research to assess its effectiveness.

This Government has set the gambling industry the task of further raising standards to ensure gambling advertising is appropriate, responsible, and does not exacerbate harm. The Betting and Gaming Council has commissioned an advertising report which will be published in due course. We are committed to reviewing the best available evidence from a wide range of sources to inform next steps in this space. We are also working with all key stakeholders in order to ensure effective measures are in place to protect those at risk.

The Gambling Commission consistently publishes details of its enforcement outcomes on its website. Since 2016/17, over 100 enforcement actions have resulted in more than £206 million in fines and regulatory settlements from gambling operators. In recent years the Gambling Commission’s enforcement activity has increased, which has led to greater indications that the industry is making gambling safer and reducing the possibility of criminal funds entering their businesses.

The Gambling Commission, like most regulators, has a range of different interventions it can make. This includes a threshold below which it will not publicise its interventions. The intention of this special measures process is to incentivise operators into immediate compliance, and to mitigate any risks to customers in the shortest possible timeframe. However, where there are significant ongoing risks and these have not been mitigated appropriately this approach would not be pursued.