Greenhouse Gas Mitigation in the United Kingdom

This report by the World Resources Institute examines the policy landscape for greenhouse gas mitigation in the United Kingdom, focusing on the legal framework established by the Climate Change Act 2008 and the trajectory of carbon budgets.

• The Climate Change Act 2008 legally binds the United Kingdom to reduce emissions by 80 percent by 2050 compared to 1990 levels, utilizing a system of five-year carbon budgets to reach this goal. Specific targets include reductions of 34 percent by 2020 and 50 percent by 2025 relative to 1990 levels.
• While the UK is projected to meet its carbon budgets through 2022 and its share of the UNFCCC commitment under the EU, meeting the fourth carbon budget (2023–27) will necessitate an acceleration of emission reductions. This implies that emissions during the third budget period (2018–22) must be significantly lower than the legislated limit.
• The UK government is implementing several key policies to reduce emissions, including the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) for power and energy-intensive industry, and the EU Renewable Energy Directive, which targets a 15 percent share of renewables in final energy by 2020. Other initiatives include the Green Deal, the Energy Company Obligation, and electricity market reforms using long-term contracts to encourage low-carbon investment.
• The Committee on Climate Change serves as an independent body that provides advice to the government on carbon targets and delivers annual progress reports to Parliament.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Greenhouse Gas Mitigation in the United Kingdom. https://www.wri.org/research/greenhouse-gas-mitigation-united-kingdom

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Greenhouse Gas Mitigation in the United Kingdom. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/greenhouse-gas-mitigation-united-kingdom.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Greenhouse Gas Mitigation in the United Kingdom |url=https://www.wri.org/research/greenhouse-gas-mitigation-united-kingdom |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendgreenhouse, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Greenhouse Gas Mitigation in the United Kingdom}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/greenhouse-gas-mitigation-united-kingdom}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }