Under the Climate Change Act, the UK government is required to set a legally-binding carbon budget that will enable the country to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Carbon budgets cap the amount of greenhouse gases the UK can emit over a five-year period, and are set at least 12 years in advance.
The first UK carbon budget ran from 2008 to 2012, with an emission cap of just over three billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO₂e). The UK is currently in its fourth carbon budget period, which has an emissions cap of 1.9 GtCO₂e. The sixth carbon budget covers the period from 2033 to 2037, and caps emissions at 965 MtCO₂e. The seventh Carbon Budget for the period of 2038 to 2042 will be set in 2025.
Carbon budgets in the United Kingdom from 2008 to 2037, by period
(in million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent)
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House of Commons. (November 13, 2023). Carbon budgets in the United Kingdom from 2008 to 2037, by period (in million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved November 17, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1449778/carbon-budgets-uk/
House of Commons. "Carbon budgets in the United Kingdom from 2008 to 2037, by period (in million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent) ." Chart. November 13, 2023. Statista. Accessed November 17, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1449778/carbon-budgets-uk/
House of Commons. (2023). Carbon budgets in the United Kingdom from 2008 to 2037, by period (in million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent) . Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: November 17, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1449778/carbon-budgets-uk/
House of Commons. "Carbon Budgets in The United Kingdom from 2008 to 2037, by Period (in Million Metric Tons of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent) ." Statista, Statista Inc., 13 Nov 2023, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1449778/carbon-budgets-uk/
House of Commons, Carbon budgets in the United Kingdom from 2008 to 2037, by period (in million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1449778/carbon-budgets-uk/ (last visited November 17, 2024)
Carbon budgets in the United Kingdom from 2008 to 2037, by period (in million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent) [Graph], House of Commons, November 13, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1449778/carbon-budgets-uk/
