This House of Lords Library briefing provides an overview of a selection of European legislation which relates to climate change, and outlines how it has been implemented in the UK. The briefing discusses the potential implications of leaving the EU on targets set into UK law and briefly states the UK’s international commitments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It also provides additional information on greenhouse gas emissions from EU countries and their climate change domestic legislation.
Leaving the European Union: UK Climate Change Policy (4MB PDF)
The United Kingdom, as part of its contributions to international efforts, introduced its own domestic legislation to tackle climate change in November 2008. The Climate Change Act 2008 seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through a long-term targeted and “economically credible strategy”. It aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent below the 1990 level by 2050. The long-term target is translated into five-year carbon budgets, which restrict the amount of greenhouse gases the UK can legally emit in a given five-year period. The carbon budgets legislated to date have been made in context of the UK as a member of the European Union and must continue to be met, unless revised to say otherwise, after the UK has left the EU. UK greenhouse gas emissions have fallen by 38 percent since 1990, but the Committee on Climate Change has identified a policy gap to meet the latest carbon budget, stating that current policies are likely to deliver at best around half of the required emissions reduction from 2015–2030.
Action to mitigate climate change is coordinated extensively at a global level. The EU has legislated on a range of climate change issues, including cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and improvements in energy efficiency through the 2020 and additional 2030 climate and energy framework. It is argued that a number of these directives have significantly contributed to emissions reduction in the UK.
On 30 March 2017, the Great Repeal Bill white paper, ‘Legislating for the UK’s Withdrawal from the EU’, was published which set out the Government’s intentions for ensuring a functioning statute book once the UK has left the EU. It states that the whole body of existing EU environmental law will continue to have effect in the UK, but does not explicitly mention EU climate change law.
This House of Lords Library briefing offers an overview of domestic UK climate change legislation and highlights a selection of European legislation relating to climate change and how it has been implemented in the UK. This briefing also discusses the potential implications of leaving the EU on the targets set into UK law, with additional information on greenhouse gas emissions from EU countries and on their climate change domestic legislation.
Leaving the European Union: UK Climate Change Policy (4MB PDF)
The Nature’s Rights Bill [HL] is a private member’s bill sponsored by Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party). The bill would recognise nature as a legal subject, granting it specific rights for protection and restoration. The bill would set out a legal framework for how this would operate, including an integrated rights framework and mechanisms for how nature’s rights would be implemented and enforced.
![Nature’s Rights Bill [HL]: HL Bill 7 of 2026–27](https://lordslibrary-parliament.studio24.dev/content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/Environment-568x426.png)
Rural areas contribute a significant proportion of England’s economic output. The government has announced several policies intended to support growth in the rural economy, including farming. However, it has faced criticism for the delay in outlining its overall strategy for the agricultural sector. This briefing provides data on the rural economy and summarises government policy and stakeholder reaction
In recent years, electricity prices for both households and businesses have seen significant increases. This briefing sets out how electricity bills are calculated, how much on average they cost and how they compare internationally. It also provides commentary on why prices have been so high and gives an overview of government policy in this area.
