The Act provides a long-term framework to improve carbon management, to help the transition to a low carbon economy, encourage investment in low carbon goods and provide an international signal. The Act establishes a legally binding target for the UK to bring all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. It also creates 5-yearly 'carbon budgets' as a pathway to meet the long-term target.
The Act has now established a legally binding target of at least an 100% cut in GHG emissions by 2050, to be achieved through action in the UK and abroad. Ministers must report on the policies implemented to meet carbon budgets and produce an annual report to Parliament on the status of UK emissions. The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) - an independent, expert body to advise the government on the level of carbon budgets and on progress in meeting these budgets - submits annual reports to Parliament on progress towards targets and budgets. The government must respond to the reports, ensuring transparency and accountability.
The Act sets up a carbon budgeting system that caps emissions over 5-year periods, with three budgets set at a time, to help the UK stay on track for its 2050 target. The first three carbon budgets run from 2008-2012, 2013-2017 and 2018-2022, and were set in law in May 2009. The fourth carbon budget, for 2023-2027 approved by parliament in 2011 and reviewed in 2014, puts into law a target to reduce emissions by 50% from 1990 levels by 2025 (the midpoint of the budget period). The government must report to Parliament its policies and proposals to meet the budgets and set a limit on the purchase of carbon credits for each budgetary period - for the first budgetary period, a zero limit was set in May 2009, excluding units bought by UK participants in the EU Emissions Trading System.
For the second budget period, a limit of 55MtCO2e was set. The Act also gives powers to introduce domestic emissions trading schemes more quickly and easily through secondary legislation - the first use has been to introduce the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme. The Act introduced measures on biofuels and powers to introduce pilot financial incentive schemes in England for household waste. The Act requires, by the end of 2012, the inclusion of international aviation and shipping emissions in the net carbon account, or an explanation to Parliament why not. The government announced in December 2012 that this decision would be deferred, recognising uncertainty over the international framework for reducing aviation emissions and particularly the treatment of aviation within the EU ETS. The new net zero target still excludes aviation and shipping. The government must report at least every 5 years on the risks to the UK of climate change, and publish a programme setting out how these will be addressed. The first such climate change risk assessment was published in 2012.
The Act also introduces powers for government to require public bodies and statutory undertakers to carry out their own risk assessment and make plans to address those risks. The Act introduces an Adaptation Sub-Committee of the Committee on Climate Change, providing advice to, and scrutiny of, the Government's adaptation work.

Climate Change Act 2008

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Climate Change Act 2008 (as Enacted)

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

People who are less able to respond to the effects of climate change due to having limited financial or physical assets

Compulsory, required payments to the government that are levied more-or-less in proportion to the services provided. Fees and charges range from entrance fees to national parks, charges on land-based sewage discharge.

Tradable permits are market-based tools that grant permission for specific activities, frequently used to regulate emissions. These permits can be issued within a trading system to manage environmental impacts.

A target to reduce the prevalence of a greenhouse gas over a specific time frame

A commitment to balance GHG emissions with removal by a certain point in time, effectively reducing the net emissions to zero

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Conditions that enhance the feasibility of adaptation options. Enabling conditions include finance, technological innovation, strengthening policy instruments, institutional capacity, multi-level governance and changes in human behaviour and lifestyles.

The release of heat-trapping gases, primarily from human activities such as burning fossil fuels, agriculture and industry.

A long-lived, colourless gas, chiefly emitted from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation and cement production.

A potent, short-lived greehouse gas, largely released from livestock, fossil fuel extraction and waste management.

Actions to reduce emissions in energy generation and supply.

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.

Any compulsory, unrequited payment to the government levied on corporations or individuals. This can be for environmental reasons, such as introducing a Carbon tax to set a price that emitters must pay for the greenhouse gases they emit.

The activities of industries involved in the production, distribution, and sale of energy, including electricity, gas, and renewables.

This sector involves managing waste treatment, sanitation, pollution control and environmental cleanup.

Activities that involve planning, designing and building infrastructure, residential, and commercial structures.

This sector involves activities to move goods and people, alongside the storage of products.

This sector creates and distributes information and entertainment through television, radio, print, and digital platforms.

This sector involves activities that impart knowledge and skills to individuals, including formal schooling, vocational training and educational support.

Activities of government agencies and institutions that provide public services, enforce laws and manage public resources.

This sector includes firms and individuals offering specialised expertise in fields such as law, accounting, consulting, science and engineering.

Activities that involve the cultivation of crops and raising of livestock for food, fibre, and other products essential for human life and industry.

the fair distribution of risks and opportunities of climate change and the transition to a regenerative economy, cognisant in particular of disproportionate impacts on vulnerable communities and the working class

Procedural justice means ensuring that decision making is safe, transparent and inclusive, emphasizing the agency and influence of vulnerable groups and those most impacted.

Climate change impacts our society by disrupting the natural, economic and social systems we depend on. Physical hazards and underlying vulnerabilities can lead to increased resource competition for food and water, which can heighten the risk of conflict.

Slow onset events evolve gradually from incremental changes over many years or from increased frequency or intensity of recurring events. As defined in the Cancun Adaptation Framework (2010), slow onset events include risks and impacts from rising temperatures, desertification, biodiversity loss, land and forest degradation, glacial retreat, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and salinization.

Climate Change Act 2008 (as Enacted)

Target

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Climate justice

Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance