Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether any governmental targets for reducing CO2 emissions set by the Government will be legally binding.

On 27 June, the Government set a legally binding target to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon dioxide, from across the UK economy by 2050. We are the first major economy in the world to legislate for a net zero target; this world-leading target will bring to an end the UK’s contribution to climate change.

In addition to the net zero target, the UK has set a number of legally binding carbon budgets in accordance with the Climate Change Act 2008. These place a legally binding cap on greenhouse gas emissions over successive 5-year periods and must be set 12 years in advance. The UK carbon budgets already set in legislation are among the most stringent in the world, requiring a 57% reduction in emissions by 2032 from a 1990 baseline.