UK’s Fifth Carbon Budget Sets Ambitious Goals for 2030

Late last month, the UK government allayed fears that the EU referendum might have a detrimental effect on the nation’s environmental policy by publishing their fifth carbon budget. In it, the government pledges to reduce carbon emissions by 57% by 2030 from 1990 levels.

The move, initiated by Energy and Climate secretary Amber Rudd, has been welcomed by environmentalists who feared that such policies could be sacrificed in the wake of the Brexit vote.

Clarity amid the confusion

There had been concerns that once the UK had left the EU, it would no longer be bound to meet the stringent climate change targets imposed upon it by the body and would relax its ambitious goals. However, the new document actually surpasses the conditions placed upon member states by the EU, which require nations to curb emissions by 40% in 2030 from 1990 levels.

The legally-binding budget is even more ambitious than those targets, aiming for a 57% reduction by 2030. As such, it sends out a welcome message to environmentalists and provides a clear view on governmental policy at a time when the waters were becoming increasingly muddied.

“After the huge confusion following the Brexit vote, we welcome the certainty this decision gives,” said Simon Bullock, a senior campaigner for Friends of the Earth.

It’s thought that the decision made by Rudd was influenced by a group of MPs, businesses and climate change experts who lobbied her to accept the tough targets identified in the budget.

More policies needed

While the announcement was generally well-received, prominent environmentalists were careful to qualify their praise with demands that according action be taken to achieve the goals laid out in the budget, including improved investment in renewable energy and energy from waste (EfW) schemes.

“The government has kept its word to adopt this important target to limit the UK’s carbon emissions,” remarked John Sauven, chief executive at Greenpeace. “It’s no good having numbers on spreadsheets without the delivery to match. The absence of clear government plans and support for action on renewable energy, homes, cars, agriculture and planes shows how far the rhetoric of climate action has drifted from anything real.”

Meanwhile, Tom Burke (chairperson of the thinktank E3G) also agreed that the budget highlighted the current deficiency in policies able to achieve its goals.

“It will mean that the government will have to double down on a new cost-effective energy strategy which reduces reliance on imported gas. This means it must make energy efficiency an infrastructure priority to slash energy demand in UK homes by half,” he said.