UK environmental strategy

Last updated: 11/12/2025

In July 2024, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) set out its top five priorities, including clean power by 2030, setting up Great British Energy (GBE), creating jobs including in the North Sea and leading on climate action (domestically and internationally).
DESNZ released the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan in December 2024, outlining the steps the government will take to meet its target of achieving 95% of the UK’s electricity from clean energy sources by 2030.
In June 2025, the UK government published its new infrastructure and industrial strategies. As part of the Industrial Strategy, the government also published the Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan. These documents include new investments and timelines related to renewable energies, in line with the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan.
In October 2025, DESNZ set out the Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan. The plan details how the UK will meet its emissions targets including through investment into clean energy. Along with the plan, DESNZ published an Investor Prospectus, aiming to support the mobilisation of private capital.
In December 2025, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) published an updated Environmental Improvement Plan. A key commitment of the plan is to mobilise private investment through increased engagement, new standards for investment in nature and targeted funding.
At Budget 2025, the government announced its intention to introduce legislation which updates calculation methods for Plastic Packaging Tax, including permitting the use of a mass balance approach in specific scenarios.
See our separate summary of the UK’s Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) and Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (UK CBAM).
Timing: this is a continuing area of development, so there is no specific timeframe for changes.