The Climate Change Committee (CCC), the expert panel advising the UK government, has released a report marking its first assessment of the UK's emission reduction progress since the new Labour government took office in July last year. The report shows that UK carbon emissions have decreased by 50.4% since 1990, covering carbon pollution from power generation, industry, road transport, residential buildings, aviation, and agriculture, but excluding emissions from UK commodity consumption in global supply chains.

Interim Chair of the UK Climate Change Committee, Piers Forster, stated that the UK should be proud of its emission reduction progress, with global warming greenhouse gas emissions declining largely due to the closure of coal-fired power plants. The report notes that progress to date has been primarily driven by decarbonization of the electricity system, with renewable energy gradually replacing coal and increasingly replacing natural gas.

However, aviation emissions have become a "stumbling block" to reductions. The report states that rising flight emissions have partially offset reduction achievements, with the aviation sector now accounting for a larger share of UK total emissions than the entire power supply industry. Continued growth in aviation emissions could jeopardize future targets. Forster indicated that Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government needs to show people the benefits of phasing out fossil fuels, such as lower electricity bills, and, given geopolitical instability, should swiftly shift to domestic renewables. The report also highlights that over 80% of the emissions reductions needed from now to 2030 must come from sectors outside energy supply.

In other green manufacturing and emission reduction areas, the UK has made some progress. China has achieved significant results in controlling road traffic pollution, with electric vehicles currently holding 19.6% of the car market, and the number of electric vehicles on UK roads doubling in the past two years to 1.5 million. By 2024, UK heat pump installations will increase by 56%, but they only account for about 1% of households, placing the UK at the lowest level in Europe. In 2023-24, UK tree planting for carbon absorption increased by 59%, the highest planting rate in two decades.

The CCC stated that emissions covered in its assessment fell by 2.5% in 2024, marking the 10th consecutive year of decline (excluding the COVID-19 years of 2020 and 2021), with most progress attributed to policies from the previous Conservative government. It also praised the Starmer government's "bold policy decisions" this year, such as removing planning barriers to renewable energy deployment, clarifying a clean energy mission, and reinstating the 2030 phase-out date for new gasoline and diesel vehicles. However, the government's easing of planning rules has sparked controversy, with environmental groups warning that inappropriate renewable energy development projects in areas like peatlands could increase emissions of potent greenhouse gases such as methane.

In November last year, at the opening ceremony of the 29th UN Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, Starmer announced revised targets, committing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 81% from 1990 levels by 2035, further demonstrating the UK government's ambition to help curb climate change.