Committee on Climate Change

The Climate Change Committee (CCC), originally named the Committee on Climate Change, is an independent non-departmental public body, formed under the Climate Change Act (2008) to advise the United Kingdom and devolved Governments and Parliaments on tackling and preparing for climate change. The Committee provides advice on setting carbon budgets (for the UK Government carbon budgets are designed to place a limit or ceiling on the level of economy-wide emissions that can be emitted in a five-year period), and reports regularly to the Parliaments and Assemblies on the progress made in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Notably, in 2019 the CCC recommended the adoption of a target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by the United Kingdom by 2050. On 27 June 2019 the British Parliament amended the Climate Change Act (2008) to include a commitment to net zero emissions by 2050. The CCC also advises and comments on the UK's progress on Climate change adaptation through updates to Parliament. The Committee on Climate Change was formally launched as a statutory committee in December 2008 with Lord Turner as its chair. An Adaptation Sub-Committee was set up in 2009 to provide advice to Government about adaptation, meaning the steps the government and devolved administrations of the United Kingdom should be taking to prepare for climate change impacts. On 1 December 2008 the committee published its first major report entitled "Building a low-carbon economy – the UK’s contribution to tackling climate change". This recommended that the UK adopt a long-term target to reduce emissions of all greenhouse gases by at least 80% by 2050, in order to tackle climate change. It recommended the level of three five-yearly carbon budgets to cover the periods 2008–2012, 2013-2017 and 2018–2022. In line with the recommendations in the committee's report, in April 2009 the Government set a requirement for a 34% cut in carbon emissions by 2020. In December 2010 the Committee recommended a 4th Carbon Budget to cover the period from 2023 to 2027.