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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to meet the legally-binding carbon targets in the Climate Change Act 2008.

The Government is committed to tackling climate change and we are making strong progress towards our legally binding carbon budgets established in the world-leading Climate Change Act.

We over-achieved on the first carbon budget, covering 2008-12, by 1.2%. The final greenhouse gas emissions statistics for 2017 confirmed that we have over-achieved on the second carbon budget, covering 2013-17. We are on track to meet the third carbon budget (2018-22); and are already on track to deliver over 90% of our required performance against 1990 levels for the fourth and fifth carbon budgets. Since 1990 we have reduced emissions by 42% while growing our economy by 72%.

We recognise the need to go further and our Clean Growth Strategy sets out our plans through to 2032, including ambitious proposals on housing, business, transport, the natural environment and green finance.

Since publishing the Clean Growth Strategy, our key achievements include: holding the first Green GB Week; announcement of two clean growth “missions” as part of our Industrial Strategy; publication of the CCUS Deployment Pathway; actions to reduce emissions from our industry and buildings, including a £315m Industrial Energy Transformation Fund; our Road to Zero Strategy, setting out ambitious measures to drive deployment of zero emission vehicles, while reducing emissions from existing vehicles; publication of the Green Finance Taskforce report; and commissioning the Committee on Climate Change to provide advice on the implications of the Paris Agreement for the UK’s long-term emissions reduction targets, including on setting a net zero target.