Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 40
40
Accepted
Develop progressively ratcheted carbon targets and set timeframe for mandatory whole-life carbon assessments.
Recommendation
Additionally: a. “We recommend that following the introduction of whole life carbon assessments, the Government should develop progressively ratcheted carbon targets for the built environment, to match the pathway to net zero set out in periodic carbon budgets. These ratcheting targets should be reported on annually, and progress reports towards achieving these targets should be published annually as part of the Net Zero Strategy indicators”. 92 b. “We recommend that a clear timeframe for the introduction of mandatory whole-life carbon assessments and ratcheting targets should be set by Government by the end of this year”. (Recommendation, Paragraph 142)
Government response summary AI-generated
The government states that it has already set legally binding carbon reduction targets and that it must be able to meet those targets in the round.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted
73. In our response to the 2024 consultation on reforms to the NPPF which sought views on the introduction of carbon accounting through the planning system, we recognised the concerns raised by respondents including low technological readiness and issues with data accuracy and verification. Mandating carbon assessments would introduce significant challenges for many local authorities and developers, creating disproportionate burdens and delays. Our priority is to simplify the policy landscape and accelerate delivery; introducing a mandatory requirement now would add complexity. Therefore, we currently intend to maintain a voluntary approach to the use of carbon accounting, and have instead committed to updating the Planning Practice Guidance to assist local authorities in considering carbon emissions within the plan-making process, and to support developers in using carbon accounting to reduce carbon emissions as part of their development proposals. 74. On December 2025 Government published a consultation on a new NPPF which included proposed changes to planning policies for climate change, including a proposed new plan-making policy that highlights how carbon assessments can help inform development plans. 75. The Climate Change Act is the UK’s legally binding framework for long-term emission reduction targets. This sets out the commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050 and 5-yearly carbon budgets in law. Carbon budgets provide a framework for Governments to protect us from the long-term threat of climate change; they do not dictate the policy choices that any Government takes. Economy-wide net zero and carbon budgets, as opposed to sector specific targets such as for the built environment, provides Government with the flexibility to plot an optimal, cost-effective path to net zero by 2050. What is important is that the Government remains able to meet its carbon reduction targets in the round, even if emissions rise in one area they must be fully balanced by either further carbon savings or high- quality and permanent greenhouse gas removals elsewhere.
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