UK carbon cutting targets on track

The UK is set to over achieve on its carbon cutting targets according to a government report. Charlotte Reid has more.

A Government report says that since 1990, the UK’s carbon emissions have dropped by a quarter, meaning it is set to over achieve its targets.

The research, released by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), was part of the Carbon Plan, a scheme set up to make sure the UK achieves its carbon emissions reduction targets. The Carbon Plan sets out the UK’s progress so far to help assess the next steps to be done to fight climate change.

The Carbon Plan may not be as ambitious as the targets laid out by Denmark and Scotland, but the scheme does aim to save billions through being more energy efficient.

The Carbon Plan sets out the progress already made, and the report says that 25% of UK emissions have already been cut. Added to that, the report says that because of the policies already in place it is likely that the 34% target for 2022 will be exceeded.

The DECC says that the target to reduce carbon emissions by 50% by the mid-2020s will not create any additional costs to this parliament. Beyond then, this is when the Carbon Plan will take effect and new technologies will be deployed to reach the targets.

However, the report highlights that the reductions already made were easier than the carbon emission reductions that need to be made over the next couple of decades.

The Guardian released an infographic that shows the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions from 1990-2010. The graphic shows the UK’s emissions in comparison to emission reductions agreed to in the Kyoto Protocol but also shows how much further we have to go until the UK reaches the 2020 and 2050 targets.

The Carbon Plan report was released to have an impact on the Durban climate change conference. If you would like to read it in full, click here.

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