UK Law and Practice Contributed by: Ruth Knox and Julian Wolfgramm-King, Paul Hastings LLP
2. National Policy and Legal Regime (Overview) 2.1 National Climate Change Policy Influence of Science and the IPCC UK climate policy is informed by science and guided by advice from the CCC on emission reduction targets and on progress in meeting those targets. The UK government receives advice from the CCC in respect of the NDCs, including the recently updated NDC. While the CCC is an independent body, it is heavily influenced by the IPCC which makes its assessments on Paris Agreement-consistent metrics, goals and scenarios based on science. The IPCC’s 2018 Special Report on warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius, published in 2018, was a key piece of evidence underpinning the CCC’s recommendation to the UK government to adopt a 2050 Net Zero GHG emission reduction target, which is a cornerstone of the Paris Agreement. The UK’s GHG Inventory is the basis on which the UK reports nationally and internationally on GHGs. It is compiled on behalf of the DESNZ according to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, as supplemented by the 2013 IPCC Kyoto Protocol Supplement and the 2013 IPCC Wet - lands Supplement. The UK accounts for emissions and removals in accordance with the methodologies and common metrics assessed by the IPCC. The UK’s NDCs The UK’s initial NDC which was submitted to the UNF - CCC in December 2020 commits the UK to reducing GHGs by at least 68% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. The UK’s 2035 NDC announced at COP29 and formally submitted to the UNFCCC in January 2025, seeks to cut emissions by at least 81% below 1990 levels by 2035. The UK’s 2030 and 2035 NDC targets are unconditional and not contingent on actions by any other state. The focus of the UK’s NDC is on climate change mitigation. The UK sets five-year caps on emissions through carbon budgets prepared pursuant to targets set under the Climate Change Act, which targets are designed to deliver on the UK’s Paris Agreement com - mitments. The budgets are set 12 years in advance. In October 2025, the UK government released the
Sixth Carbon Budget outlining the policies needed to achieve targets for the period 2033–2037. Key focus areas in the Sixth Carbon Budget are to support investment in renewable and nuclear power, increase employment in clean energy by 430,000 employees and to support investment in hydrogen and Carbon Capture Usage and Storage. The UK is legally required under the Climate Change Act to adapt and strengthen resilience to climate change, produce a climate change risk assessment and five-yearly national adaptation programmes set - ting out how it will address climate change risks. The third National Adaptation Programme (NAP3) was published in July 2023 and covers the period 2023 to 2028. NAP3 sets out extensive plans to protect, restore and create coastal and marine habitats and manage the risks and opportunities arising in connec - tion with marine species, habitats and fisheries. NAP4 is expected to be published in 2028. The CCC issued a progress report to Parliament in October 2025 stat - ing that UK adaptation implementation is inadequate and the government must act without delay to improve objectives and targets, improve co-ordination, inte - grate adaptation into all relevant policies and imple - ment monitoring, evaluation and learning across sec - tors. Two weeks later, the government issued detailed responses to the CCC’s recommendations including a commitment to explore stronger objectives to improve preparedness for the impacts of climate change. The UK last submitted an Adaptation Communication to the UNFCC in 2020. This voluntary report contains the UK’s plans for climate change adaptation and for supporting climate change adaptation overseas. An update was published in 2021 and the UK will sub - mit a further update in due course and, indeed, the CCC has recommended that the communication be updated, also as an opportunity to demonstrate inter - national leadership. The UK published its first Biennial Transparency Report (BTR) in 2024. The purpose of these reports, which are mandatory under the Paris Agreement is to articulate to the UNFCCC and to the public, pro - gress in reducing GHGs, approach to adaptation and support for developing countries in tackling climate change. The UK’s BTR includes progress tracking on
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