Draft Carbon Budget Order 2026

Parliament approved the Draft Carbon Budget Order 2026 on 24 June 2026, passing by 332 votes to 94. The order sets legally binding limits on the amount of greenhouse gas emissions the UK can produce over a defined future period, as required under the Climate Change Act 2008. The vote was Division 41. The carbon budget framework obliges the government to cap cumulative emissions across successive five-year periods, with each budget acting as a stepping stone toward the UK's legally binding net zero target by 2050. Approving this order locks in the emissions ceiling for the relevant budget period, giving legal force to the government's climate trajectory and constraining future policy choices in energy, transport, industry, and land use. Labour MPs voted unanimously in favour, joined by the Liberal Democrats, the Greens, Plaid Cymru, and most minor parties. All 86 Conservative MPs who voted opposed the order, along with all 6 Reform UK MPs who voted and one Democratic Unionist Party MP. There were no Conservative or Reform votes in favour. The Conservative bloc formed the overwhelming bulk of opposition, while no significant cross-party rebellion against the government was recorded.