LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s climate advisers, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), has recommended in a letter to government that it should commit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 81% by 2035 in its upcoming budget next month.
The new Labour government is expected to announce increases in public spending and taxes in its first budget in 14 years next week.
The emissions cut target recommended by the advisers is higher than the current target of a 78% reduction by 2035 compared with 1990 levels and excludes international aviation and shipping emissions.
However, it would make a credible contribution towards limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the committee said.
“With climate damages already felt around the world, targeting an 81% emissions reduction by 2035 sets the right level of ambition,” said Piers Forster, interim chair of the committee. “Our analysis shows this can be achieved in a way that benefits jobs and the economy, provided we hit the country’s 2030 target – set in line with the CCC’s advice in 2020,” he said.
The government needs to set out an updated climate plan and targets for 2035 before a U.N. deadline of February 2025.
In July this year, the CCC said Britain might miss its 2030 emissions reduction target and was off track to meet a longer-term target of net zero emissions by mid-century.
The advice will also form part of the committee’s seventh carbon budget plan covering the years 2038-2042 which is due to be published in February next year.
(Reporting by Nina Chestney; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
