Targets for effective climate mitigation governance in the UK

Authored by Sam Betts-Davies, John Barrett, Chris Smith, Steve Pye, Elliott Johnson, and James Price in July 2024.

Download or view the full report: Targets for effective climate mitigation governance in the UK

Summary

This report draws on the latest insight and evidence to set out five additional targets that the UK government could introduce to overcome some key challenges that the UK faces in delivering transformative change to achieve both interim and longer-term climate mitigation targets, as well as provide a framework for clear and consistent monitoring and progress evaluation on crucial indicators necessary to achieve net zero.

Overview

The five targets set out in the report are:

1. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission source target by 2050 – providing an additional target on GHG emission sources.
   Currently, the UK’s GHG emission target for 2050 is on a net basis, including removals as well as source.
2. Carbon removal target – the UK needs clear targets for carbon removal, and pathways for the development
   of this capacity. We currently have no target on the total tonnes of carbon dioxide to remove from the atmosphere
   by 2050 and beyond.
3. Smooth transition target – providing certainty by ensuring that carbon budgets are not transferable between
   different budgets. Currently there is the option for surplus GHG emission allocations to be passed from one budget
   period to the next.
4. Energy demand reduction target – while energy demand could be delivering half of the reduction in GHG emissions
   by 2050, the UK does not have a target to track energy demand reduction.
5. Fossil fuel reduction target – removing fossil fuels from the energy system is crucial to decarbonising our economy.
   Currently the UK does not have a target to map the decline of fossil fuel use in the UK.

About the authors

Sam Betts-Davies is a postgraduate researcher in the Sustainability Research Institute at the University o f Leeds.

John Barrett is a Professor in Energy and Climate Policy at the University of Leeds.

Chris Smith is a NERC-IIASA Collaborative Research Fellow at the University of Leeds.

Steve Pye is an Associate Professor of Energy Systems and Deputy Director of the UCL Energy Institute, University College London.

Elliott Johnson is a Research Assistant in Energy Demand Reduction at the University of Leeds.

James Price is a Principal Research Fellow at University College London.

To cite this policy brief, please reference: Betts-Davies et al. (2024) Targets for effective climate mitigation governance in the UK, University of Leeds. https://doi.org/10.5518/100/60