The Government is committed to delivering our target to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and end the UK\u2019s contribution to climate change.<\/p>
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We are a world leader in cutting emissions, having reduced emissions by 42% since 1990 while growing the economy by 72%.<\/p>
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We recognise the need to go further and, since legislating for net zero in June, the Government has continued to bring forward ambitious plans to support clean growth across a range of sectors. This includes a £250 million Clean Steel Fund, £400 million of investment in new charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, and up to £1 billion additional funding to develop and embed the next generation of cutting-edge electric vehicle technologies.<\/p>
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Under the leadership of the newly created Cabinet Committee on Climate Change, chaired by the Prime Minister, we will be setting out ambitious plans throughout 2020 to strengthen our global leadership and seize the economic opportunities of clean growth for the whole country. The Committee will also oversee the UK\u2019s preparations to host the crucial UN climate change summit, COP26, in November 2020.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4134", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Kwasi Kwarteng"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Spelthorne"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Kwasi Kwarteng"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-01-07", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-01-07T14:57:43.617Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "201"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-12-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Carbon Emissions"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps she will take to ensure the UK meets its target of zero carbon emissions by 2050.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4478", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Royston Smith"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Southampton, Itchen"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Royston Smith"} ], "uin" : "159"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1167438", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1167438/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Tackling climate change is a top priority for the Department. We were the first major economy to legislate for a net zero target and have already made great progress towards it. Since 1990 we have reduced emissions by 42% while growing our economy by 72%.<\/p>
The Government\u2019s Clean Growth Strategy and Industrial Strategy set out strong frameworks to deliver the target in a way that maximises the economic benefits of our transition to net zero. This includes building on our strengths in electric vehicles and offshore wind. In 2018, 1 in 5 battery electric cars sold in Europe were built in the UK[1] and we are spending nearly £1.5 billion out to 2021 to support the take-up of ultra low emission vehicles. The UK has the largest offshore wind capacity in the world, with 34% of global capacity[2]. At the latest contracts for difference allocation round, 12 renewable electricity projects won contracts at record low costs. The auction has delivered enough energy to power 7.2m homes by 2025.<\/p>
On 15 October, the Government published its response to the CCC\u2019s latest annual Progress Report, setting out the suite of recent announcements made in support of our net zero target, and describing further actions that the Government will take to deliver net zero and meet our carbon budgets. These include plans for the publication in 2020 of an Energy White Paper, a Transport Decarbonisation Plan and a Heat Roadmap.<\/p>
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[1] OLEV (2019) fast facts briefing; ONS (2019) Low carbon and renewable energy economy final estimates: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/environmentalaccounts/datasets/lowcarbonandrenewableenergyeconomyfirstestimatesdataset<\/a> (Updated 19/07/2019 Nelli Vanninen)<\/strong><\/p> <\/p>