Committee on Climate Change proposes 60% carbon emissions cut by 2030
Wed 08 December 2010
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The Committee on Climate Change has called for the widespread development and deployment of low carbon vehicles leading to a 45% reduction in emissions from surface transport by 2030. The Committee's fourth carbon budget which is mandated under the UK's Climate Change Act says that the UK should aim for an overall 60% cut in emissions by 2030.
The Committee says that the reduction in emissions from surface transport is achievable mainly through the development and deployment of 11 million electric cars and vans.
Achieving the target proposed by the Committee will require a complete revamp of the nation's electricity market, making it virtually zero-carbon, as well as a massive improvement in the energy efficiency of homes and buildings and the replacement of most petrol-driven cars with electric or plug-in hybrid models.
If the CCC's 2030 target is passed into law, as previous CCC targets have been, it would be the first legally binding 2030 target in the world. The target – which is a cut relative to 1990 emissions levels – is intended to lead the way to a legally binding 80% UK cut by 2050.
Lord Turner the Chair of the Climate Change Committee (reported in The Guardian) said: "We are recommending a stretching but realistic fourth carbon budget and 2030 target, achievable at a cost of less than 1% of GDP. We therefore urge the government to legislate the budget, and to develop the policies required to cut emissions.
"The case for action on climate change is as strong as ever: climate science remains robust and suggests that there are very significant risks if we do not cut emissions. And countries acting now will gain economic benefits in an increasingly carbon-constrained world."
The Committee's advice on the fourth carbon budget, covers the period 2023-27, as required under Section 4 of the Climate Change Act. The Government will propose draft legislation for the fourth budget in Spring 2011. In line with the required timetable, this report comes only two years after the first report, which recommended budgets for the first three periods. From now on budget advice reports will be delivered every five years
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