LONDON (UK) – Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the country will come out with an ambitious target to reduce emissions in a bid to meet global climate goals, adding that it aims to bring down emissions by 68% from the levels of 1990 by 2030. At present, the rate remains at 57%.
Ahead of hosting next year’s climate discussions, the prime minister wants to give a fillip to Britain’s green credentials. The COP 26 talks will be held in Glasgow. Last month, the nation announced the “green revolution” to reduce emissions and create 250,000 jobs.
This also comes ahead of the UN’s Climate Ambition Summit which will be held on Dec. 12 and Britain is its co-host. This commemorates the fifth anniversary of the international Paris climate agreement.
“Today, we are taking the lead with an ambitious new target to reduce our emissions by 2030, faster than any major economy,” the prime minister said in a statement.
In 2019, Britain became the first G7 member to come out with a law setting 2050 as the target for zero emissions and it requires changes in the way people travel, use energy and eat.
In mid-November, the government said that it would ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2030, five years ahead of the earlier deadline, adding that it would bolster renewable energy production.
As per the Paris climate agreement, countries have to limit a rise in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius, which scientists say could prevent the worst effects of climate change.
Nations which are part of the agreement have to submit a plan called a nationally determined contribution (NDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change showing how they will slash emissions.
“This is the most significant NDC announcement so far from any major economy,” said Richard Black, director of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit.
It “sets down a marker for other prosperous nations regarding their own minimum level of NDC ambition,” he added.