The UK government has today announced an new ambitious target to reduce the UK’s emissions by at least 68% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels.

The UK’s new target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Climate Agreement –commits the UK to cutting emissions at the fastest rate of any major economy so far.

According to the government, over the past decade the UK has cut carbon emissions by more than any similar developed country and was the first major economy to legislate for net zero emissions by 2050.

The announcement comes ahead of the UK co-hosting the Climate Ambition Summit on Saturday 12 December, which will coincide with the fifth anniversary of the historic Paris Agreement.

The summit calls on countries around the world to submit ambitious NDCs or other climate plans ahead of the UN COP26 climate talks, which takes place in Glasgow next year.

This new target meets the recommendation of experts at the independent Climate Change Committee who advise the government on emissions targets.

Announcing the new target, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:

“We have proven we can reduce our emissions and create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the process – uniting businesses, academics, NGOs and local communities in a common goal to go further and faster to tackle climate change.

“Today, we are taking the lead with an ambitious new target to reduce our emissions by 2030, faster than any major economy, with our Ten Point Plan helping us on our path to reach it.

“But this is a global effort, which is why the UK is urging world leaders as part of next week’s Climate Ambition Summit to bring forward their own ambitious plans to cut emissions and set net zero targets.”

Business and Energy Secretary and COP26 President Alok Sharma said:

Nationally Determined Contributions are at the heart of the Paris Agreement goal, set at COP21 in 2015, to hold the global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees and pursue best efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C.

The UK’s previous NDC target was 53%.

The UK will communicate its full Nationally Determined Contributions to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) by the Climate Ambition Summit on 12 December, including the accompanying Information to Facilitate Clarity, Transparency and Understanding (ICTU).

However, in line with common NDC practice, the UK’s NDC target does not include international aviation and shipping.

Commenting on the new target, Peter Simpson, CEO of Anglian Water and Co-Chair of The Prince of Wales’s Corporate Leaders Group, said:

“Credible plans matter in the race to zero, so today’s announcement is welcomed. It’s why the water industry recently launched its own routemap to net zero by 2030.

“There’s never been a more important time for companies to step up, invest, and take action to support both national ambition and global need, and this expectation is something our customers have been very clear about. COP26 means the spotlight is on. Climate change won’t wait for us, and the time for action is now.”