"We are the first major economy to halve emissions and have the most ambitious legally binding emissions targets in the world," is the response, or a variation on those words.
It is true that since 1990 the UK has cut emissions further and faster than any other major developed economy, while increasing the size of the economy. Emissions per capita are lower than they have been since the mid-19th century.
However, these claims tell only half the story: those past emissions cuts came mainly from the switch from coal to gas, and the pace of reduction has now slowed considerably. On current form, the UK will miss its emissions-cutting obligations by 2030 and by 2050 by a wide margin, and lacks any coherent plan to achieve the much harder transformation of the economy now needed.
Esta historia es de la edición May 23, 2024 de The Guardian.
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