KEIR Starmer has committed to cutting UK greenhouse gas emissions by 81% by 2035 – but said he would not be telling people how to live their lives to curb climate change.

The new goal, unveiled by the Prime Minister at UN COP29 talks in Azerbaijan, is in line with the recommendation from independent advisers the Climate Change Committee (CCC), and with existing legally-binding domestic targets.

This target, which is based on reducing emissions compared with 1990 levels, forms the UK’s latest nationally determined contribution (NDC) – a commitment countries make to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate climate change.

The new target was welcomed by climate campaigners, who called for clear plans to deliver it.

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Countries have a deadline of February to submit their plans up to 2035 for tackling rising temperatures, with the UK’s target announced at the latest round of climate talks as the Labour Government seeks to re-establish leadership on the issue.

The talks come in the wake of devastating weather extremes, warnings that 2024 is on track to be another record hot year and the world is heading for a “catastrophic” 3.1C of warming on current policies, and the re-election of Donald Trump – who has repeatedly dismissed climate change – in the US.

Setting the UK’s greenhouse gas emission target, Sir Keir highlighted the opportunities of shifting to a clean economy, saying: “The race is on for the clean energy jobs of the future, the economy of tomorrow.

“I don’t want to be in the middle of the pack, I want to get ahead of the game.”

He told reporters: “At this Cop I was pleased to announce that we are building on our reputation as a climate leader with the UK’s 2035 NDC target to reduce all greenhouse gas emissions by at least 81% on 1990 levels.

“But a global problem also requires global partnership, responsible international co-operation, which is why we took the opportunity at this Cop to again urge all parties to come forward with ambitious targets of their own.”

(Image: Carl Court)

When it made its recommendations in 2020 for the domestic target for 2035 that the new goal is in line with, the Climate Change Committee set out a series of changes that would need to be made to life in the UK.

These included phasing out gas boilers by 2033 and ending sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles including hybrids by 2032.

And around 10% of emissions savings would come from areas such as encouraging people to reduce meat and dairy consumption, slower growth in flights, reductions in car travel, cutting waste.

But the PM denied that meeting the target would require telling people to change their lifestyles, insisting he would lead a Government that “trod lightly on people’s lives”.

He pointed to the Government’s plan to reach clean power by 2030, five years ahead of the CCC’s recommendation for zero carbon power by 2035, and said that would be key to delivering on the target.

The PM said: “The target is my target and the plan is my plan, I’m not borrowing from somebody’s else’s plan.

“The target is as I’ve set out today. I don’t think that as we tackle this really important issue the way to do it is to tell people how to run their lives and instruct them how to behave.”

However, Tim Wainwright, Chief Executive of WaterAid UK called the announcement, “only one piece of the puzzle”, warning that “the UK cannot claim the title of a global climate leader without urgently mobilising international climate finance.” 

Wainwright said: “Today's COP29 commitments from the UK’s Prime Minister represent the bare minimum expected from a G7 nation.

“Every day, the world’s most vulnerable are dealing with the fatal consequences of our inaction, from relentless flash floods to searing drought, leaving millions of communities without clean water, pushed further into poverty, out of work and education and vulnerable to deadly diseases. 

"If Keir Starmer is serious about showing climate leadership, then he must urgently scale up and deliver the UK's long overdue finance adaptation. If not, millions more will be forced to bear the cost of a crisis they did not create." 

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Tanya Steele, chief executive at WWF, said: “Announcing a new climate target for 2035 at Cop29 provides a timely signal, showing that the UK is willing to be a global leader on climate.”

But she said: “To take full advantage of an immediate and full transition to a zero-carbon economy, the UK needs to back up its 2030 and 2035 targets with solid and credible delivery plans.”

Dr Caterina Brandmayr, from the Grantham Institute – Climate Change and the Environment, Imperial College London, said the NDC was “exactly what the world needs right now to help mobilise climate action”.

“To show that the UK is serious about delivering on its commitments, the 81% target now needs to be backed by strong policy and investment plans to drive real world emission cuts.

“This will also support a wealth of other benefits, including energy security, job creation and cleaner air,” she said.

The Tories responded by attacking Labour’s approach to the climate, claiming it would “send bills soaring”.

Shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho said: “The Climate Change Committee has said Keir Starmer’s new target would mean Brits would need to eat less meat and travel less by air and car.

“This is on top of Ed Miliband’s mad approach to energy which is going to send bills soaring. All that would happen is that we would end up importing more from China, the world’s largest polluter.

“It makes no sense for the climate, the economy or for the British people.”