Government commits to 87% cut in UK’s climate emissions by 2040

Emily Beament, Press Association Environment Correspondent

The Government has signed up to a legal target to cut the UK’s planet-heating emissions by 87% by 2040, Ed Miliband has announced.

The reduction in greenhouse gases on 1990 levels – on the way to cutting climate pollution to zero overall by 2050, known as “net zero” – is in line with official advice from the independent Climate Change Committee (CCC) on deliverable and cost-effective cuts.

But the Government’s commitment to the “seventh carbon budget” emissions target for the period 2038-2042 comes amid increasing political division over climate action, with Reform UK and the Tories promising to ditch net zero policies and back oil and gas drilling.

Energy Secretary Mr Miliband said the drive for clean homegrown power was the “only way” to protect family and business finances, as he accused opponents of sticking their heads in the sand about climate breakdown and its impact on future generations.

The CCC has said meeting the target will require households to install heat pumps instead of new boilers, switch to electric cars and vans and eat less meat and dairy, but families could save hundreds of pounds a year by mid century in the shift away from fossil fuels.

A report by the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI’s) economics consultancy this week showed the UK’s net zero economy supports 1.1 million workers, from solar panel installers to electric car production line engineers, and delivered £105 billion in economic value in 2025.

Many households and businesses are already making the shift to clean tech, with the highest monthly deployment of solar panels in March for more than a decade, and record monthly electric vehicle (EV) sales, figures show.

The Government said moving at pace to clean energy and net zero emissions will reduce the UK’s exposure to more fossil fuel shocks, which pushed up prices in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Iran war.

And it will cut bills, reduce air pollution to boost health, deliver thousands of green jobs and ensure action by the UK to tackle the climate crisis in the wake of record heatwaves, officials said.

Mr 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.

“Some people want to stick their heads in the sand and let our children face the consequences of climate breakdown – but this government believes in the timeless British value of protecting our country for generations to come.”

The net zero target to cut greenhouse gas emissions to zero overall by 2050 on 1990 levels, with any residual pollution offset by carbon-capturing measures such as planting trees, is set under the landmark Climate Change Act, passed in 2008.

Under the Act, the Government of the day must legislate for emissions caps for future five-yearly “budgets” on a strict timetable, with the seventh carbon budget due by the end of June.

Officials said a delivery plan setting out how the cuts would be delivered will be published as soon as practicable after Parliament has approved the budget.

But the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (Desnz) pointed to clean energy and climate plans already in train, including its £15 billion warm homes plan to upgrade properties, investment in renewables and nuclear energy, and backing for clean energy jobs.

The new budget for emissions cuts in 2038-2042 was welcomed by environmental campaigners.

Helen Meech, executive director of the Climate Coalition of environmental and civil society groups said: “Setting an ambitious seventh carbon budget is exactly what the country needs right now, when energy security, food resilience and the cost of living all depend on accelerating our transition away from fossil fuels.”