Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change26 Mar 2025

Net Zero Isn’t Impossible, It’s The Key To UK Prosperity — Ep202: Emma Pinchbeck

The UK is an extraordinary case study in how to cut greenhouse gas pollution successfully. Since 1990, the country has more than halved its greenhouse gas emissions, while the economy has grown by over 80%.

The Climate Change Act, passed in 2008, has helped steer the UK towards its net-zero goals, setting five yearly carbon budgets that are specifically designed to be ambitious but flexible, with lots of options available to the government to meet the targets.

Joining this week’s episode of Cleaning Up is Emma Pinchbeck, the new CEO of the Climate Change Committee (CCC), the organisation which advises the government on the route it should take to net zero.

Emma spent close to a decade leading the UK’s energy sector trade association, and is now responsible for producing advice on the UK's final three carbon budgets. In February, the CCC published the seventh carbon budget, which covers the period centred around the year 2040.

Emma joins Bryony Worthington to talk about the progress the UK is making in meeting its carbon targets, the challenges ahead, and why it's so important the UK holds the course, even if others have chosen to abandon their climate ambitions.

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.

Links:

The 7th Carbon Budget: https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/the-seventh-carbon-budget/
Emma’s previous appearance on Cleaning Up: https://youtu.be/66flrmMEmso

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