Navigating Towards 2050: Evaluating the UK's Net-Zero Emission Ambitions

Background: Despite the huge efforts and ambitious climate policy in the United Kingdom, the critical question remains – will the UK achieve the Net-Zero emission target by 2050? This research addresses this research question by analysing the measures, policies and actions undertaken towards the ambitious goals. Methods: The study conducts an analysis of various trends so far, and forecasts the trend to 2035 (the new target set in 2021) and by 2050 the net-zero emission target to see the outcome. The study uses secondary data on various greenhouse gas emissions. Descriptive statistics and forecasting techniques are adopted. Results: The results revealed a declining trend of greenhouse gases emission from 1990. The results indicated that on 2035, the total greenhouse gas emission in UK would be 219.95 MtCO<sub>2</sub>e while that of total CO<sub>2</sub> would be 137.19 MtCO<sub>2</sub>e. The reduction in emission would not have been reduced by 78% as targeted by the CCC, if the same trend and effort is going to be maintained. However, considering the level of emission reduction by 2050, the results indicated that for the total C0<sub>2</sub> emissions, if the same trend and effort is maintained, the total emission was forecasted to be -74.29 MtCO<sub>2</sub>e, having achieved the net-zero emission of C0<sub>2</sub>. For the total greenhouse gases emissions, the results indicated that for the year 2050, the emission would be 0.32 MtCO<sub>2</sub>e, which would be approximately net-zero. This confirms that the net-zero emission target would be achieved by 2050.