Policy Briefing: Making it happen: UK climate leadership through five actions in five years
26 October 2024 – A briefing by the UK Corporate Leaders Group (CLG UK) examines the policies that the UK government needs to prioritise in the next five years to demonstrate leadership in the decade of delivery.
Download the report
About
The UK has historically been a strong climate leader: it is the first G20 nation to halve its emissions since 1990, while simultaneously growing its economy by nearly 80 per cent. However, efforts to scale up climate action have slowed recently, meaning the UK is perceived to have lost its clear leadership position. Between now and 2030, the UK has an opportunity to act fast and decisively to regain that leadership position and influence climate ambition globally.
Other countries have learnt from the UK being a first mover in climate policy. Through the 2008 Climate Change Act, the UK was the first country globally to set a legally binding climate mitigation target: to reduce emissions by 80 per cent based on 1990 levels. In 2019, the UK became the first major economy to set a legally binding target to ensure all greenhouse gas emissions reach net zero by 2050 at the latest, a move that was supported by business. In 2020, the UK published an ambitious updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) emissions reduction target to reduce all greenhouse gas emissions by at least 68 per cent by 2030 on 1990 levels.
Although the UK has made significant progress in reducing its emissions, it is currently off track to achieve its 2030 NDC, while the global race towards net zero is well under way. Where the UK has previously led, including in the move to renewables, other countries are now pushing ahead and the UK risks being left behind and losing investment overseas. Notable examples include China’s clean power surge – in the first half of 2024, it added as much clean energy generation as the UK produced from all sources in the same period in 2023 – and the US Inflation Reduction Act.
Accelerating action towards achieving the UK’s 2030 climate target through decisive leadership presents an opportunity for growth, innovation, investment and resilience. Mutually reinforcing actions from government and business that create stability, build trust and remove barriers can create a virtuous circle of fast-flowing investment, accelerated action and ratcheted ambition.
However, accelerated growth does not stop at 2030 – investing now to meet the current 2030 target is essential to put the UK on track to meet future targets. Through a UN process requiring all countries to announce ratcheted 2035 NDCs, the UK can show leadership by setting an ambitious 2035 target, as well as leading the way in delivery and implementation.
The UK government needs to demonstrate leadership in the decade of delivery through leveraging policy synergies that enhance policy cohesion and cross-departmental collaboration to maximise effectiveness, prioritising policies that:
- Deliver on electrification: incentivise and facilitate large-scale electrification, while phasing out the use of fossil fuels
- Deliver on markets: support decarbonisation through market creation
- Deliver on skills: plan and prepare for a future-fit workforce
- Deliver on homes: implement comprehensive and stable policies to ensure UK homes are comfortable, energy efficient and low carbon
- Align climate and nature targets: make climate change mitigation, adaptation and nature targets mutually reinforcing
Citing this report
University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL). Making it happen: UK climate leadership through five actions in five years (CLG UK, 2024)