The UK is set to fail to meet the Paris Agreement’s climate objectives unless Government cuts emissions far more rapidly than currently planned, UCL research suggests.

The paper ‘Achieving net-zero emissions through the reframing of UK national targets in the post-Paris Agreement era’, was published in Nature Energy in March 2017 and urges Government to make climate policy more ambitious and consider a net-zero greenhouse emissions target soon after 2050.

“With the Government’s Emission Reduction Plan to be published in the coming months, a reframing of targets to strengthen ambition and establish a net-zero target by 2070 merit consideration. This would bring clarity to the ultimate long term objective of an ‘emission-free’ energy system, and help ensure that all strategic investments in infrastructure reflected this ambition.”

Steve Pye, Senior Researcher, UCL Energy Institute 

This story was reported by Carbon Brief in an article taking an in-depth look at the findings of the paper in the global context of the Paris deal.

Further Information

Read the paper: Achieving net-zero emissions through the reframing of UK national targets in the post-Paris Agreement era 6th March 2017

Read the full news story released by UCL Energy Institute 7th March 2017

Read the article in Carbon Brief 10th March 2017