CO2 emissions need to reach net zero by 2050 to limit global warming to 1.5°C
Climate change, driven by natural and human factors like fossil fuel use, agriculture, and deforestation, is altering global weather patterns and causing disruptions to water resources, ecosystems, and crop yields. Increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, trap solar radiation, leading to global warming, especially in oceans. Scientific evidence indicates a higher risk of significant environmental changes if global temperatures rise beyond 2°C above pre-industrial levels. Since 1992, most countries have been part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, a treaty providing a framework for international cooperation for combating climate change. This was followed by the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 which commits its developed country Parties to internationally binding emission reduction targets, and the Paris Agreement in 2015 which sets out an international action plan to limit global temperature rise to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels. Achieving these targets requires systemic changes in global emission patterns. The energy sector can contribute through demand-side interventions, energy efficiency, flexible systems, and renewable energy sources to help mitigate climate impacts and limit temperature rise.
Learn more about climate change and emissions by exploring our Energy Insights.
For details on the progress in achieving the global and national climate change targets read the New Energy World analyses.
Discover UK energy professionals' views of the best measures to reach emissions targets by reading our annual Energy Barometer.
2023
was the warmest year on record since recordkeeping began in 1880 (NASA)
0billion
metric tonnes of ice per year on average was shed from the Antarctic ice sheet between 2002 and 2023 (NASA)
0%
of greenhouse gas emissions in the energy sector in 2022 were CO2 emissions from energy combustion and industrial processes (IEA)
0%
increase in carbon dioxide emissions from flaring was seen from 2022 to 2023 (Statistical Review of World Energy)
What's new?
Onshore wind expands (with major project start-ups in Africa and Australia) and grows safer in the UK
11th June 2025
Africa’s largest wind farm commissioned in EgyptA major milestone for African renewable energy has been reached with the commissioning of ...
UK and EU extend post-Brexit collaboration on energy
28th May 2025
Announced at a UK-EU Summit in London on 19 May, the new level of climate cooperation is expected to cut costs, improve grid resilience and support re...
Clean energy puts China’s CO2 emissions into reverse
21st May 2025
Findings of the report, published in Carbon Brief, show that China’s emissions were down 1.6% year-on-year in 1Q2025 and by 1% in the latest 12 months...
Construction begins on Greensand CO2 transit terminal, which could become the first gateway for carbon storage in the EU
14th May 2025
Captured CO2 will be transported by truck to the Port Esbjerg terminal, where it will be temporarily stored in six 1,000 tonne-capacity liquid CO2 hol...
Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair calls for reset on net zero strategies and climate politics
7th May 2025
Writing in the foreword to a new report, The Climate Paradox: Why We Need to Reset Action on Climate Change, from the Tony Blair Institute for Global ...
Events and training
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Technical guidance publications
EI 3588
Recommended practices for methane emissions detection and quantification technologies – upstream
May 2025
Responding to the continuous advancement of technology, the Energy Institute, Ipieca, IOGP, and OGCI have updated their guidance and online tool to su...
EI 3538
Energy retail station sites green guide: opportunities to contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
August 2023
The energy and fuel retail sector is one of many industries expected to undergo considerable disruption in the next decade to meet the emerging challe...
EI 3471
EI Research report: Evolution of condition monitoring requirements for combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plants
September 2021
Combined cycle has turbine (CCGT) power plants were originally designed for baseload operation however this has changed (particularly in the UK), e.g....
HSE 199 Understanding your energy culture
July 2017
Understanding your energy culture is a new tool adapted from the well-known Understanding your HSE culture tool. The Energy Institute has adapted the...
EI 1533 Quality assurance requirements for semi-synthetic jet fuel and synthetic blending components (SBC)
February 2025
EI 1533 provides essential quality assurance requirements and recommendations for the manufacture of synthetic (jet fuel) blending components (SBC), (...