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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what statutory targets have been set for (1) renewable energy, and (2) carbon dioxide reduction; and why any such targets were set.

Climate change is a threat that requires an urgent global response. The Government is clear, we must act now.

The Climate Change Act 2008 was the first of its kind in the world and made the UK the first country to introduce a legally binding, long-term emissions reduction target.

The Act set a legally binding target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% by 2050 relative to 1990 levels. In June 2019, the Government passed legislation to increase that target to a reduction of at least 100% (net zero).

It also introduced our innovative framework of carbon budgets to ensure continued progress towards that target, capping emissions in successive five-year blocks. The carbon budgets currently set in legislation (carbon budgets 1 to 5 covering the period between 2008 to 2032) are amongst the most stringent in the world, requiring the equivalent of a 57% cut in emissions by 2030 from a 1990 baseline.

We have committed to end the use of unabated coal by 2025. Meeting our net zero target will require us to build on this progress by transforming our economy – our homes, our transport, our industries, how we generate and use energy, and how we use our land.