Boris Johnson to commit to new carbon emissions target

Boris Johnson will strengthen Britain's commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050 by setting a new target of reducing emissions by as much as 69 per cent within the decade.

The Government is working to an existing target of cutting emissions by 57 per cent compared with 1990 levels by 2030.

Britain has already reduced emissions by 45 per cent since then.

The Prime Minister is expected to deliver the new climate pledge on Friday.

It follows the unveiling of his ten-point plan for a "green industrial revolution" last month which includes a ban on the sale of diesel and petrol cars from 2030.

The Government is also preparing to bring forward plans to ban gas boilers in new homes from 2025 to 2023.

"The big issue is gas boilers," a government source told The Times. "If we really want to make these kinds of inroads we have to do more to decarbonise people's homes. The prime minister's 10-point plan will not be enough."

By 2023 it is expected that gas-only boilers will be banned in new homes and 600,000 heat pumps will also be installed annually from 2028, first in homes off the gas grid, a technology some experts say is much more immediately viable than hydrogen, but expensive.

Around 80 per cent of homes are heated by boilers. Home heating accounts for about 14 per cent of the UK's total emissions.

A commitment to cut emissions by 69 per cent would put the UK ahead of the EU which has a goal of reaching a 40 per cent reduction by 2030.

Mr Johnson told the Commons on Wednesday: "I am proud that the UK led the way in instituting a target of net zero by 2050. We are looking at our nationally determined contribution, which will be extremely ambitious."

Britain is obliged to create a target for reducing emissions under the Paris Agreement. Next year it hosts the Cop26 international climate change summit.