The UK government’s fifth carbon budget is sufficient in light of last month’s Paris agreement to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius but might need to be tightened in future, according to the Committee on Climate Change.
In a letter to Energy Secretary Amber Rudd, the CCC reiterated its earlier advice that the fifth carbon budget be legislated at 1765 MtCO2e for the period 2028-2032. This represents a 57% cut compared to 1990 levels.
The Paris agreement also set out a target to reach net zero global emissions in the second half of the 20th century.
The CCC said the proposed fifth carbon budget supports the Paris agreement, which is more ambitious than the UK’s legally-binding target to cut emissions by 80% on 1990 levels by 2050, but warned that this is the minimum level of UK ambition necessary.
“This increase in ambition raises the question of whether the fifth carbon budget should be tighter than we have proposed,” the CCC wrote. “Our judgement is that our existing recommendation is sufficient at this time, although a tighter budget may be needed in the future.”
The letter also repeated earlier calls to extend funding for low-carbon power generation beyond 2020 under the Levy Control Framework and develop a new approach to CCS.
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Carbon budget OK for now
Committee on Climate Change says may need to be tightened in the future
By EBS