Net zero: what it means
The UK's legal target for 2050: greenhouse gas emissions reduced so far that any remaining emissions are balanced by removals from the atmosphere.
Net zero means that the greenhouse gases a country emits are balanced by those it removes from the atmosphere, for example through forests or carbon capture. The Climate Change Act 2008, as amended in 2019, requires the UK's net emissions account for 2050 to be at least 100% lower than the 1990 baseline. Scotland has its own legal target of net zero by 2045, and Wales has set 2050.
Why it matters when checking a claim
- Net, not zero. Some emissions can remain if they are offset by removals.
- Measured against 1990. Progress claims are usually stated as a percentage cut since 1990 using territorial emissions.
- Interim limits. The legal path to 2050 is set through five-year carbon budgets; the Climate Change Committee reports on progress each year.
- Costs and savings are estimates that depend on assumptions; check which official source and scenario a figure comes from.
See what are UK greenhouse gas emissions.
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Related terms
- Carbon budget: A legal cap on the total greenhouse gases the UK can emit over a five-year period, set under the Climate Change Act on the advice of the Climate Change Committee.
- Territorial and consumption emissions: Territorial emissions count greenhouse gases produced within the UK. Consumption emissions count those caused by what UK residents buy, wherever in the world they are produced.
- Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e): A common unit that converts different greenhouse gases into the amount of carbon dioxide that would cause the same warming.
More housing, energy and the environment terms: Affordable housing · Social rent · Affordable rent · Temporary accommodation · Main housing duty · Net additional dwellings · Housing starts and completions · Carbon budget · Territorial and consumption emissions · Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) · Low Income Low Energy Efficiency (LILEE).