How legislated climate targets are amended

United Kingdom: amending by order

The Climate Change Act 2008 (2050 Target Amendment) Order 2019 substituted 100% for 80% in section 1(1) of the Act ². It was made on 26 June 2019 and came into force the day after it was made ². The legislation.gov.uk record shows the substitution in force from 27 June 2019 ¹.

The Order records that, before the draft was laid, the Secretary of State obtained and took into account the advice of the Committee on Climate Change ². It records representations from the Scottish Ministers, the Welsh Ministers and the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs ². The stated reason was significant developments in scientific knowledge about climate change since the Act was passed ². The explanatory note says no full impact assessment was produced ².

Canada: amendment with a ratchet

Section 11 of the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act lets the Minister amend an emissions target or an emissions reduction plan in a manner consistent with the Act's purpose ³. Section 7 says each target must represent a progression beyond the previous one ³. The 2030 target is Canada's NDC for that year under the Paris Agreement, as amended from time to time ³.

Before setting or amending a target or plan, the Minister must give provinces, Indigenous peoples, the advisory body and interested persons the opportunity to make submissions ³. Any amendment to a plan must be tabled in each House within the first 15 sitting days after it is made ³. The Act states that nothing in it prevents reaching net-zero emissions before 2050 ³.

Ireland: targets set through carbon budgets

Ireland's 2021 amending Act sets the national climate objective of a climate neutral economy by no later than the end of 2050 ⁴. The 2030 figure works through carbon budgets. The first two budgets must provide for 2030 emissions 51 per cent below 2018 ⁴. A budget is proposed by the Climate Change Advisory Council, finalised by the Minister and approved by the Government ⁴. Dáil Éireann may refer a carbon budget to a joint committee, which reports within two months ⁴.

European Union

Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 sets a binding Union 2030 target of a domestic cut in net emissions of at least 55% compared with 1990 levels ⁵. It requires the Commission to review the Union's measures by 30 September 2023 and every five years after ⁵. The recitals record that the Commission assessed the 2030 target in a communication of 17 September 2020 ⁵.

Comparing the routes