Section 5: Level of carbon budgets
41.This section sets limits on the levels of certain carbon budgets.
42.Subsection (1) sets out the requirement for carbon budgets to be consistent with certain emissions levels in particular years:
paragraph (a) requires that the “annual equivalent” of the carbon budget for the carbon budget covering the year 2020 must be at least 26% lower than the 1990 baseline;
paragraph (b) requires that the “annual equivalent of the carbon budget” for the carbon budget covering the year 2050 is no more than the level specified in section 1 compared with the 1990 baseline (80% below 1990 levels, unless amended under section 2);
paragraph (c) gives the Secretary of State a power to set, by order, further percentage targets or target percentage ranges for years after 2050.
43.Subsection (2) provides that the “annual equivalent” of a given carbon budget is the total carbon budget for a period divided by the number of years in that period. Subsection (3) provides that an order setting a target percentage or percentage range for a year after 2050 must be made using the affirmative resolution procedure.
44.Subsection (4) makes further provision in relation to the cap on the budget which includes the year 2020, as set out in subsection (1)(a). It provides that only carbon dioxide emissions are to be taken in considering the level of the cap. Paragraph (a) provides that only so much of the budget as the Secretary of State considers relates to carbon dioxide emissions should be considered, and paragraph (b) provides that only so much of the 1990 baseline (see section 1(2)) as relates to carbon dioxide should be used as the comparator.
