Net Zero
The legal target under the Climate Change Act 2008 (as amended in 2019) requiring the UK to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This means that emissions produced must be balanced by an equivalent amount removed from the atmosphere (through carbon capture, afforestation, etc.).
Independent editorial summary — not the official statute text. Read the official version on legislation.gov.uk.
Section 1 of the Climate Change Act 2008 places a legal duty on the Secretary of State to ensure that the UK's net carbon account for the year 2050 is at least 100% lower than the 1990 baseline — in effect, a legally binding 'net zero' target. The figure was originally set at 80% and was amended to 100% by secondary legislation in 2019, making the UK the first major economy to legislate for net zero.
'Net' reflects that the target is not a requirement to eliminate emissions entirely, but to ensure that any remaining emissions are balanced by an equivalent amount of greenhouse gases removed from the atmosphere, for example through carbon capture and storage or afforestation.
Related terms
Official sources
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