How ambitious is the UK's emissions target?

The UK government revealed an "ambitious new climate target" yesterday - reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 68% compared to 1990. "Recognising the urgency to go further to tackle climate change," the press release reads, "the UK’s new target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – our Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Climate Agreement – is among the highest in the world and commits the UK to cutting emissions at the fastest rate of any major economy so far." The goal is part of the recently announced 'Ten Point Plan for a green industrial revolution'.

Business and Energy Secretary Alok Sharma is quoted as saying: "As a country, we have demonstrated we can both rapidly cut carbon emissions, while creating new jobs, new technologies and future-proof industries that will generate economic growth for decades to come."

As this chart shows, The UK has already made sizeable steps in reducing its emissions since 1990. Based on 2019's provisional figure, the country has undergone a 45 percent reduction compared to 1990, and on paper at least, meeting the 68 percent target would essentially be a case of 'more of the same'. Nevertheless, the realisation of this will be challenging and, as noted by Sharma, the goal "is among the highest in the world" and "reflects the urgency and scale of the challenge our planet faces."