Will the UK hit net zero by 2050? MPs begin inquiry on Carbon Budget Seven
On Wednesday, the cross-party Environmental Audit Committee will hold the first evidence session for its new inquiry on the Seventh Carbon Budget (CB7).
Meeting details
The session will explore the ambition of the Climate Change Committee’s advised carbon budget for CB7, what progress the UK has made to date and what practical steps are needed to ensure that emissions targets are met.
Throughout the inquiry, MPs will consider the Climate Change Committee’s advice on CB7 and consider what measures the Government should take into account before proposing the budget, which covers the years 2038-2042, and how the costs of these will affect people around the UK.
Committee members are likely to ask expert witnesses about the Climate Change Committee’s advice to government on achieving CB7, particularly the balance it presents between ambition and credibility.
In October, the Government published a Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan, covering Carbon Budgets 4-6, after the High Court ruled the previous plan unlawful in May 2024. In the second panel, MPs will hear from two of the organisations who brought the legal challenge that resulted in that ruling.
MPs are likely to explore the policies set out in the new Delivery Plan and what areas might need to be strengthened with new measures, to prevent the Government failing to deliver on targets.