Carbon Budgets : Third Report of Session 2009-10 - v. 1 : Report Together with Formal Minutes

This report, "Carbon Budgets ("HC 228-I")" finds that the Government is only on track to meet its first carbon budget because of the impact of the recession.

There is now a worrying shortfall in delivery; UK emissions are currently falling by only about 1 per cent per year, instead of the 2-3 per cent per year which is needed.

The management of the carbon budget is as vital as that of the fiscal budget and requires the same level of political attention, civil service commitment, and parliamentary scrutiny.

Although the scientific case for more stringent targets is growing, the Government should focus on making more rapid progress against its existing budgets.

The Government must first deliver the carbon savings promised in its Low Carbon Transition Plan, then urgently bring forward new measures to increase the rate at which emissions are falling to 2-3 per cent per year.

There also needs to be a move to tighten carbon budgets and increase the 2020 target for reducing emissions to a cut of 42 per cent on 1990 levels by 2020. The Committee is also calling on the Government to: work in international climate negotiations on getting emissions to peak as soon as possible; secure competitive advantages for the UK in emerging markets for low-carbon technologies by being prepared to move unilaterally; monitor the latest science and start planning the options available for reducing emissions further and faster in case the scale of the crisis demands bigger cuts; and, put the right regulatory framework in place to ensure that we do not wrongly invest in high-carbon infrastructure.