Net zero means that the greenhouse gases a country still emits are balanced by the amount it removes from the atmosphere, for example through forests, soils or engineered carbon removal. It does not mean zero emissions. It means emissions that remain are cancelled out by removals.
The UK’s legal target
The Climate Change Act 2008 originally required the UK to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% from 1990 levels by 2050. In June 2019 Parliament amended the Act to raise this to 100%, making the UK one of the first major economies to put a net zero target into law. The target covers all greenhouse gases, not only carbon dioxide. Scotland has its own, earlier net zero target of 2045.
Carbon budgets
To keep the country on track, the Act sets carbon budgets: legally binding caps on total UK emissions over successive five-year periods. Each budget is set about 12 years in advance, on advice from the Climate Change Committee (CCC), an independent statutory body that also reports to Parliament every year on progress.
| Budget | Period | Approximate cut from 1990 levels |
|---|---|---|
| Sixth | 2033–2037 | 78% by 2035 |
| Seventh | 2038–2042 | about 87% |
Parliament approved the level of the seventh carbon budget in June 2026, in line with the CCC’s advice. Both the sixth and seventh budgets include emissions from international aviation and shipping.
What it means in practice
Reaching net zero depends largely on cleaning up electricity and then using it for heating and transport, through heat pumps and electric vehicles. Sectors that are hard to decarbonise, such as aviation and some industry, are expected to rely on carbon capture and greenhouse gas removals to balance their remaining emissions.
Read more: UK backs energy storage, carbon capture and floating wind in October 2024.