The United Kingdom will reach zero emissions by 2050
Environment — di Andrea Barolini
One of outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May's final acts was to set the United Kingdom on a path towards carbon neutrality, to be achieved by 2050.
The United Kingdom will reach zero emissions by 2050
One of outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May's final acts was to set the United Kingdom on a path towards carbon neutrality, to be achieved by 2050.
The British Prime Minister Theresa May, who will shortly be stepping down as leader of the London government, has announced her intention to table an amendment to the Climate Change Act of 2008. The legislation commits her country to achieving neutrality in terms of CO2 emissions by 2050.
"We must preserve the planet for future generations"
"The United Kingdom," the British leader explained, "led the world towards innovation during the Industrial Revolution. Now we must show the way towards a greener form of growth. We cannot wait. Reaching net zero emissions by 2050 is an ambitious but decisive goal in order to preserve our planet for future generations."
Prime Minister Theresa May wants the U.K. to become the first major economic power to commit to zero net greenhouse gas emissions nyti.ms/2IdZ4pj
To date, no western country has officially legislated in this direction, although measures are under discussion in France, Finland and Norway. And yet, the Ipcc's Special Report, published in October 2018, made it unequivocally clear that the rise in average global temperature — driven precisely by CO2 emissions — is continuing at an extremely rapid pace.
The United Kingdom has already declared a climate emergency
Theresa May's decision follows that of the British parliament, which at the beginning of May declared — the first nation in the world to do so — a state of "climate emergency". This came on the initiative of the Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn, which tabled a motion that was approved by the House of Commons.
"Now is the time to go further and faster to safeguard the environment for our children." - PM Theresa May
UK to cut net greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) to zero by 2050 aje.io/nlzh4
UK to cut net greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) to zero by 2050 aje.io/nlzh4
The situation is, however, particularly alarming. It is enough to consider that a report drawn up by fossil fuel giant British Petroleum recently confirmed that in 2018, CO2 emissions worldwide continued to rise. An increase of 2 per cent, representing the highest level in seven years — a period during which the figure had always recorded modest annual increases, if any at all.