29 October 2025
Today the UK Government has published a new Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan – setting out how the country will deliver emissions reductions up to 2037.
With COP30 just around the corner, The Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals (ISEP) welcomed the UK Governments latest efforts to set out a credible carbon reduction plan and hoped scrutiny of the plan would substantiate its position as a global leader in climate efforts ahead of the summit in Brazil next month.
However, ISEP cautioned that efforts to deliver emissions reductions and ultimately net zero were reliant on closing the current green skills gap and ensuring delivery does not result in a post-code lottery when coordinating education and skills policy between national and regional governments.
Following the initial Net Zero Strategy published in 2021 under the Boris Johnson's Conservative Government, a High Court challenge by conservation groups, found the strategy was unlawful under the Climate Change Act 2008, and ruled that the government should set out more detail on how it aims to meet its carbon budgets and reach net zero.
This resulted in the Carbon Budget Delivery Plan published in 2023 under Rishi Sunak's Conservative Government, which the High Court again found to be unlawful in its assertion that the plans put forward would enable the UK to meet its carbon budgets. Following last year's General Election, an autumn deadline was set for Government to deliver an updated whole economy plan to meet Carbon Budgets 4-6 with the publication of a refreshed Carbon Budget Delivery and Growth Plan.
Signe Norberg, Director of Policy and Public Affairs, at The Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals (ISEP), said: “ISEP welcomes the UK Government’s Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan, as it marks a critical milestone for meeting its environmental objectives while delivering economic benefits, by providing policy clarity for businesses which can unlock investment into critical areas of the economy.
“Key to delivering on our environmental objectives and maximising opportunities across the country is ensuring the UK workforce has embedded the fundamental knowledge and skills needed to grow the economy of the future. Evidence from employers and education providers shows significant gaps in both the supply and coordination of green skills, and one of the biggest risks is ensuring delivery does not result in a post-code lottery.
“At the moment, skills development increasingly devolved to regional mayors with no national coordination or requirements to align education and skills policy with environmental priorities and future green growth opportunities. National support is vital to ensuring that skills and jobs reach every corner of the UK, and today’s plan is a welcome step in the right direction, which together with the recent Clean Energy Jobs Plan moves us closer towards bridging that gap.
“The publication of the Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan also comes at a critical junction internationally, with COP30 around the corner. Given its high level of ambition and focus on delivering positive outcomes across the country, it can serve as an exemplar internationally and support ambitious national plans (NDCs) ahead of this significant international climate summit.”
The UK's initial Net Zero Strategy set out a series of policies and commitments designed to enable the UK to reach net zero by 2050. In July 2022, a High Court judgement found that the strategy was unlawful under the Climate Change Act 2008, and ruled that the government should set out more detail on how it aims to meet its carbon budgets and reach net zero.
In response to the judgement, the government delivered the March 2023 Carbon Budget Delivery Plan, setting out how the government would meet the emissions reductions required for carbon budgets four to six (spanning 2023 to 2037). A second legal challenge at the High Court in May 2024 found that the revised strategy (the Carbon Budget Delivery Plan) was unlawful in its assertion that the plans put forward would enable the UK to meet its carbon budgets. It ruled that government needed to prepare a revised plan by 2 May 2025.
Following the announcement of the general election, this deadline for the revised Carbon Budget Delivery Plan was extended to October 2025. The Labour Government announced its plan to deliver Clean Power by 2030 in December 2024. This was supported by several policies and new pieces of legislation, notably the Great British Energy Act (to set up a publicly owned clean power company to accelerate investment in renewable energy). In October 2025, Labour publishes their Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan.
