Getting on track to net zero:
a UK carbon policy tracker
The UK is off track to meeting its net zero goal. It can get on track before the UN climate summit in November 2020.
This tracker shows two indicators of progress towards net zero:
projected carbon reductions from new policies
spending commitments needed to tackle the climate and nature emergency
We will keep it regularly updated through the year.
On or off track?
The UN climate summit (COP26) will be hosted by the UK in Glasgow in November 2020. This is an important opportunity for UK climate leadership.
But the UK can only lead abroad if it is acting at home. As of January 2020, there is a gap of 313 million tonnes of CO2e between the UK’s emissions reduction plans and the trajectory needed to meet the government’s own net zero law.
Policies to get the UK on track to net zero
We’ve identified five affordable policies which can be implemented this year, and which would cut enough carbon to get the UK on track to meeting its net zero by 2050 target. (For more information on these policies, see our methodology).
As the year progresses, we will be adding other policy recommendations that would allow the UK to decarbonise even faster.
Is the UK spending enough to tackle the climate and nature emergency?
Getting the UK on track to net zero is essential, but a major uplift in spending is needed to cut carbon in the medium term, support climate adaptation and tackle environmental degradation.
We are monitoring here how much spending the UK has committed so far against the funding needed. (For information on these costs, see our methodology).
About this tracker
Measurement 1. Policies to get the UK on track to net zero
This analysis is based on work published in Acting on net zero now, part of Green Alliance's Cutting Carbon Now programme. All figures refer to the 5th carbon budget period (2028-2032). The underlying research is based on the following reports:
Technical analysis : How the UK can stop contributing to Climate Change (November 2018)
Policy 1 Transport sector: How the UK can lead the electric vehicle revolution (March 2018)
Policy 2 Domestic buildings sector: Reinventing Retrofit (February 2019). Our analysis also relies on other research, including that by Cambridge Econometrics and Verco and Frontier Economics
Policy 3 Nature restoration: alongside analysis in our technical report above, we have also identified how the land use and agriculture sector can get on track to a 2040 net zero target, in line with the NFU’s goal: Cutting the climate impact of land use (April 2019)
Policy 4 Industry: By popular demand (November 2018); Less in, more out (November 2018)
Policy 5 Power: Closing the clean power gap (September 2017)
We have tested the public mandate to act on these policies in a series of citizen’s juries, and have found broad support. See: Power to the people (July 2019)
Measurement 2. Is the UK spending enough on the climate and nature emergency?
This analysis is based on work published in Government investment for a greener and fairer economy, published by Greenpeace, August 2019. This outlines the scale of spending needed to address the climate and nature emergency. It is a broader analysis of the costs of tackling the UK's environmental challenges, including net zero. In total, it requires that two per cent of the UK’s GDP be allocated to this urgent national challenge.
This policy tracker is the initiative of:
This work part of the Cutting Carbon Now project, run by Green Alliance and supported by the Network for Social Change. It is advocating immediate action across the UK economy to drastically reduce the UK’s contribution to climate change.
For more information about the tracker contact: jfurtado@green-alliance.org.uk
Green Alliance, 11 Belgrave Road, London SW1V 1RB t:020 7233 7433
www.green-alliance.org.uk @GreenAllianceUK ga@green-alliance.org.uk