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UK Must Act Now to Meet Climate Change Targets | 6 Jul 2010

The UK must urgently increase the pace of its emission reductions if it is to meet its legislated carbon commitments, the Committee on Climate Change has warned.

The CCCs 2nd progress report to Parliament concluded that the 8.6% decline in emissions of the UK's greenhouse gases over the past year was almost entirely due to a reduction in economic activity caused by the recession and increased energy prices, rather than the result of the implementation of measures to reduce emissions.

It warned that if the economy returns to growth, emissions could increase causing the UK to miss its carbon budget of a 34% cut in emissions by 2020 relative to 1990.

The report stated that a "step change" is needed in the pace of reduction, which would require new policies in the four key areas of electricity market reform, buildings, transport and agriculture.

Chair of the Committee on Climate Change, Lord Adair Turner said: "The recession has created the illusion that progress is being made to reduce emissions. Although emissions have declined substantially, our analysis shows that this is almost wholly due to a reduction in economic activity and not from new measures being introduced to tackle climate change.

"So we are repeating our call for new policy approaches to drive the required step change, in order that the UK can ensure a low-carbon recovery."

Given the impacts of the recession and lower projected emissions in the period to 2020, the Committee also raised the question of whether the UK should move to the more ambitious Intended carbon budget (based on a 42% cut in GHG emissions in 2020 relative to 1990, compared to the currently legislated 34% cut), and will provide a view on this when advising on the fourth carbon budget (2023-27) later in the year.