The government has backed the Climate Change Committee’s proposed Seventh Carbon Budget, committing the UK to an 87% cut in emissions for the period from 2038 to 2042.
The decision is one of the most significant climate policy moves of this Parliament and sets the legal direction for the next phase of Britain’s net zero transition.
Ministers say the target is designed to protect households and businesses from future fossil fuel shocks, grow the clean energy economy and keep the UK aligned with the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.
The announcement comes as Britain faces what the government describes as its second fossil fuel price shock in five years, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and now the war in Iran.
The government says the answer is to move faster towards clean, homegrown power rather than remain exposed to volatile international oil and gas markets.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “As Britain faces the second fossil fuel shock of the decade, the only way to protect family and business finances is to drive for clean homegrown power that we control.
“What has been achieved so far by businesses and communities across the country is a great British success story – cutting costs by upgrading homes, backing British businesses, supporting one million good jobs according to new analysis from CBI Economics, and protecting our beautiful countryside.”
The Seventh Carbon Budget covers 2038 to 2042 and follows advice from the Climate Change Committee, with the proposed 87% emissions reduction also endorsed by the Environmental Audit Committee.
Once approved by Parliament, the target will become legally binding under the Climate Change Act 2008.
A delivery plan setting out how the government intends to meet the budget will be published after Parliament has approved the level.
Ministers argue setting the target now gives investors and businesses long-term certainty, helping unlock clean energy investment across power, homes, transport, industry and nature recovery.
The government said more than £90bn of private investment in clean energy has been announced since July 2024, including carbon capture projects in Teesside and the Sizewell C nuclear project in Suffolk.
The government is framing the new carbon budget not simply as a climate target but as an economic and energy security policy.
It says families installing solar panels could save up to £500 a year, electric cars could save drivers up to £1,400 a year to run and the £15bn Warm Homes Plan will deliver the biggest home upgrade programme in British history.
The government also claims its record renewables auction secured enough clean energy to power the equivalent of 23 million homes.
By 2050, ministers say the UK could cut fossil fuel reliance from around three quarters of energy use today to around 15%, avoiding around £445bn in fossil fuel spending over the next 25 years.
The wider case is also being made around health and nature.
The government says cleaner air from the transition could mean around 8,000 fewer hospital admissions each year by 2050, while peatland restoration and woodland planting could deliver around £50bn in nature benefits.
The political battle will now move to delivery.
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