UK carbon budgets: all seven limits, and whether the UK met them

What a carbon budget is

A carbon budget caps the net UK carbon account for a five-year period. The net UK carbon account is the UK's net greenhouse gas emissions, adjusted for any carbon units credited or debited. Budgets are measured in million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e).

Section 4 of the Climate Change Act 2008 gives the Secretary of State two duties: to set a carbon budget for each five-year period starting with 2008 to 2012, and to make sure the net UK carbon account for each period does not exceed it.

Each budget is set by an order approved by both Houses of Parliament. It must be set with a view to meeting the 2050 target, which since 2019 has been net zero: emissions at least 100% below 1990 levels. For periods after 2022, the order must be made by 30 June in the 12th year before the period begins.

All seven UK carbon budgets

Each limit covers five years in total, so the yearly average is a fifth of it. The seventh budget averages 107 MtCO2e a year, against 390 MtCO2e a year for the fourth.

The seventh carbon budget (2038 to 2042)

The Carbon Budget Order 2026 was made on 25 June 2026 and came into force on 26 June 2026. It sets the budget for 2038 to 2042 at 535,000,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, five days before the 30 June 2026 legal deadline.

The government says the level is in line with the advice of the Committee on Climate Change (now known as the Climate Change Committee), and that it includes the UK's share of international aviation and international shipping emissions.

Section 14 of the Act requires the government, as soon as is reasonably practicable after setting a budget, to lay a report before Parliament on its proposals and policies for meeting the current and future budgets up to that one. The government says a delivery plan for the seventh budget will be published as soon as is reasonably practicable.

Has the UK met its carbon budgets?

Yes, all three that have ended. Under section 18 of the Act, the government must lay a final statement before Parliament for each period, and that statement decides whether the budget was met.

Over the third period, emissions measured by the net carbon account were on average 47% below base year levels. By 2022, the last year of the period, UK net greenhouse gas emissions were 50% below base year levels.

The fourth budget runs to the end of 2027. Its final statement must be laid before Parliament by 31 May 2029.

International aviation and shipping

The sixth carbon budget was the first to include the UK's share of emissions from international aviation and international shipping, and the first set on the path to net zero by 2050. The seventh also includes them. These emissions count towards the sixth and later budgets under the Climate Change Act 2008 (International Aviation and International Shipping) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/727), in force from 1 July 2026.

UK domestic flights, flights between the UK and Gibraltar, flights from the UK to the European Economic Area and Switzerland, and since 1 July 2026 domestic shipping, are also covered by the UK ETS. See how the UK ETS works.

What carbon budgets mean for businesses

Carbon budgets place duties on the government, not on companies. Businesses feel them through the policies the government uses to stay within each budget. The Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan, published on 29 October 2025, sets out how the government intends to meet the fourth, fifth and sixth budgets, up to 2037.

• Carbon pricing: the UK ETS for power, heavy industry, aviation and shipping, and the UK CBAM on some imports from 1 January 2027.
• Reporting: quoted companies, and large unquoted companies and LLPs, report energy use and emissions under SECR.
• Public contracts: central government buyers ask bidders for contracts worth more than £5 million a year, including VAT, for a Carbon Reduction Plan that commits to net zero by 2050.

Sources

1. DESNZ: Carbon Budgets (updated 13 July 2026) (checked 28 October 2026)
2. legislation.gov.uk: The Carbon Budget Order 2026 (SI 2026/695) (checked 28 October 2026)
3. legislation.gov.uk: The Carbon Budget Order 2021 (SI 2021/750) (checked 28 October 2026)
4. legislation.gov.uk: The Carbon Budget Order 2016 (SI 2016/785) (checked 28 October 2026)
5. legislation.gov.uk: The Carbon Budget Order 2011 (SI 2011/1603) (checked 28 October 2026)
6. legislation.gov.uk: The Carbon Budgets Order 2009 (SI 2009/1259) (checked 28 October 2026)
7. legislation.gov.uk: Climate Change Act 2008, sections 1, 4, 8, 9, 14, 18 and 27 (checked 28 October 2026)
8. legislation.gov.uk: The Climate Change Act 2008 (International Aviation and International Shipping) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/727) (checked 28 October 2026)
9. DESNZ: Final statement for the third carbon budget period (21 May 2024) (checked 28 October 2026)
10. BEIS: Final statement for the second carbon budget period (23 May 2019) (checked 28 October 2026)
11. DECC: Final statement for the first carbon budget period (13 May 2014) (checked 28 October 2026)
12. DESNZ: Carbon budget and growth delivery plan (29 October 2025) (checked 28 October 2026)