The Climate Change Committee (CCC) has released its first assessment of the new Government’s progress on reducing emissions. The independent, statutory body found that government policies to reduce emissions have improved since last year. With more action, the UK can hit its legally binding climate targets and improve energy security for households and businesses across the UK.
Interim Chair of the Climate Change Committee, Professor Piers Forster, said: 'The UK can be proud of our progress in reducing emissions. We’ve cut them by over 50% since 1990. Our country is among a leading group of economies demonstrating a commitment to decarbonise society. This is to be celebrated: delivering deep emissions reduction is the only way to slow global warming. However, the Government needs to do more to ensure people see the benefits of climate action in their bills. Given increasingly unstable geopolitics, it is also important to get off unreliable fossil fuels and onto homegrown, renewable energy as quickly as possible. The fossil fuel era is over – cheap, clean electricity is our future.'
The Committee’s key findings are:
Making electricity cheaper will help people feel the benefits of the transition and speed up the uptake of clean electric technologies, such as heat pumps and electric vehicles.
There has been positive delivery on key areas this year, including new car electric vehicle market share (19.6% in 2024), heat pump installations (up 56%), and woodland creation (up 59%). Much of this progress is due to previous policy, set out under the previous Government. But this Government has also made bold policy decisions this year – notably on removing planning barriers on renewable deployment, clarity on the clean power mission, and the reinstatement of the 2030 phase-out date for new petrol and diesel vehicles.
But more action is needed. Despite encouraging trends, electric vehicle and heat pump rollout remain slightly below what is needed and the tree planting rate from last year may not be sustained without further support. Action must accelerate.
Over the last year, the UK has made progress on reducing emissions. Emissions fell 2.5% in 2024, the tenth consecutive year of sustained reduction in emissions, excluding the COVID-19 pandemic years 2020 and 2021.
The UK’s emissions have halved (-50.4%) since 1990.
With more action, the UK will hit its legally binding climate targets.
Priority recommendations in the report are:
- Make electricity cheaper.
- Provide confidence and certainty to scale heat pump deployment in existing buildings.
- Implement regulations to ensure that new homes are not connected to the gas grid.
- Introduce a comprehensive programme to decarbonise public sector buildings.
- Accelerate the electrification of industrial heat.
- Effectively deliver rapid expansion of the low-carbon electricity system.
- Put policies and incentives in place to ramp up tree planting and peatland restoration.
- Develop policy to ensure that the aviation industry takes responsibility for its emissions reaching Net Zero by 2050.
- Finalise business models for engineered removals.
- Publish a strategy to support skills.
Read the Committee’s report on progress in reducing emissions
Source: Climate Change Committee
