UK to cut emissions by 81% by 2035: ‘Shining example of climate leadership’

The UK is set to announce its new nationally determined contribution (NDC) at COP29 today: it will aim to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 81% by 2035, a target considered by experts as a “shining example of climate leadership”.

The new target, first announced by The Guardian, is in line with the latest advice given by the Climate Change Committee (CCC) a few days before the country was to issue its next NDC.

The UK will seek to cut emissions by 81% from 1990 levels by 2035, mainly by decarbonising its power sector, expanding offshore wind capacity and investing in carbon capture and storage and nuclear energy.

“The United Kingdom’s new emissions reduction target is a shining example of climate leadership. Let's hope it will inspire other G20 economies to follow suit. The UK’s ambitious commitment to cut emissions 81% by 2035 sets the country on a path to achieve its net zero goal by 2050,” said Stientje van Veldhoven, World Resources Institute’s Vice President and Regional Director for Europe.

Need for stronger climate policies

He cautioned that the UK would need to strengthen its policies and “ramp up its green investments” to deliver on this ambitious target.

“We strongly encourage the UK government to complement its ambitious, economy-wide goal with bold, sector-specific goals for energy, transport, and land use and agriculture when it submits its new national climate commitment in early 2025,” he added.

In addition, the UK will need to continue to foster new green industry jobs – as demand from these skills is far outpacing supply – make electricity “cheaper and cleaner” and promote the transition to electric vehicles, according to WRI.

UK energy transition

Energy-related emissions still made up 82% of total UK emissions in 2022, as the country continued to burn fossil fuels for electricity and heat generation, as well as transportation.

According to Deloitte, emissions from electricity supply dropped by nearly three-quarters between 1990 and 2022 as the UK committed to phasing out coal-fired power stations – the last one was fully decommissioned in September 2024.

However, the country will now have to focus on substituting natural gas with lower-carbon sources in the next phase of its energy decarbonisation strategy.