The UK's 2035 Nationally Determined Contribution commitments have been officially submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Under the Paris Agreement, countries must submit a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target for their emissions reduction to UNFCCC every 5 years, ahead of the relevant Conference of the Parties (COP). The UK's NDC target will be to reduce all greenhouse gas emissions by at least 81 per cent by 2035 compared to 1990 levels, excluding international aviation and shipping emissions.

The Government will produce an updated cross-economy plan in due course, outlining the policies needed to deliver carbon budgets 4-6 and the 2030 and 2035 NDCs on the pathway to net-zero by 2050.

Professor Joeri Rogelj, director of research at the Grantham Institute, Climate Change and Environment, Imperial College London, said: “The UK’s new NDC sends a clear signal of the UK’s intention to reclaim international climate leadership. With an 81 per cent reduction from 1990, the NDC follows the advice of its scientific advisory committee that sketches out a fair and ambitious contribution of the UK to the Paris Agreement.”

However, he added a note of caution: “NDCs are pledges, however, and not policies. Here the UK will have to step up because its current policies fall far short of what is needed to meet their current targets.”

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