Our work on the Climate Change Act

The UK’s Climate Change Act, passed into law in 2008 with near-unanimous cross-party support, is a genuine world leader. It requires that UK greenhouse gas emissions reduce steadily but significantly to 2050 and beyond. And it helps ensure that our transition to a low-carbon economy is smooth, sustainable and cost-effective.

We work to help ensure the Act is a success.

About the Climate Change Act

• An introduction to the Climate Change Act and carbon budgets (October 2016)
• Our 2009 analysis of the Act: The UK Climate Change Act 2008 – Lessons for national climate laws (November 2009)
• Are our emissions targets legally binding? Enforcing the Climate Change Act (March 2015)
• The Climate Change Act and why we need it (Chapter 2 of our “Mind the Gap” report) (October 2016)

Why the law isn’t working properly

• “The neglect of the Climate Change Act” (Chapter 3 of our “Mind the Gap” report) (October 2016)

Reviving the Act

Our recommendations (Chapter 6 of our “Mind the Gap” report) (October 2016)

• An Emissions Reduction Plan that is fit for purpose
• Wider governance renewal (“A wider reset”)

Government’s response so far

• What’s needed to get the plan “right” (October 2016)
• Government noises on delayed plan leave questions unanswered (January 2017)
• Fresh concern over Emissions Reduction Plan (January 2017)

Is the Government in breach of the Climate Change Act?

A persistent “policy gap” to meeting our carbon budgets

• Chapter 4 of our “Mind the Gap” report (October 2016)
• Financial Times: “Court battle threat hangs over climate change law” (October 2016)
• The wait for a new Emissions Reduction Plan (February 2017)
• UK Government challenged over emissions reduction plan (April 2017)

Where the law needs to improve

Counting emissions

• How we count emissions produces uncertainty and does not drive emissions reductions (February 2016)
• Government fails to reform how we count emissions (April 2016)

Increasing ambition in the light of Paris

• Our ambition needs to match the Paris Agreement – that means a net zero target first (November 2016)
• “No reason for delay” on a net zero emissions target (November 2016)

The impact of Brexit

• Letter to the Financial Times: “Our Climate Change Act does not depend on EU” (July 2016)

Adapting to climate change in the UK

• 7 things we learned from the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (May 2017)