The government will propose to Parliament that the seventh carbon budget is set in line with the Climate Change Committee’s recommended level of 535 MtCO₂e, equivalent to an 87% reduction in emissions in 2040 from a 1990 baseline. The carbon budgeting framework within the Climate Change Act 2008 (CCA) was enacted by Parliament. The Act includes mechanisms for Parliamentary scrutiny of carbon budgets: Carbon Budget Orders must be debated and approved by both Houses of Parliament via the affirmative procedure. The DESNZ SoS must lay before Parliament a plan for delivering the carbon budget after it has been set. The government’s approach to setting and delivering Carbon Budget 7 (CB7) will align with these statutory duties. The Climate Change Act made the UK the first country to introduce a legally binding, long-term emissions reduction target, and we are proud to have such a robust legal framework in place. As the Climate Change Committee (CCC) has said, the Act provides an institutional framework for long-term decision making and a counterbalance to short-term political pressures – setting the CB7 level is a key example. The Act provides crucial certainty to businesses and investors and also shows the world that we are serious about climate leadership. Since the UK passed the Act in 2008, 60 other countries have developed their own climate legislation, demonstrating that the UK’s climate leadership is driving global ambition on emissions reductions. We are grateful that the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) has engaged so fully in scrutinising the CCC’s recommendations in their advice on CB7, and we welcome their support for the CCC’s recommended level for CB7. The government has published an extremely detailed Impact Assessment alongside the draft Carbon Budget Order for CB7, so that this is available to the EAC and rest of Parliament when the Order is being considered and debated. The Carbon Budget Order for CB7 is subject to the affirmative procedure, which means the instrument cannot be made until both Houses have debated and approved it. The government accepts the EAC’s recommendation that the draft Order is not to be referred to a Delegated Legislation Committee in the House of Commons, but instead debated on the Floor of the House, and will work with Business Managers to ensure this happens. We also accept the recommendation to arrange for a debate of not less than half a day on the floor of the House on a motion to approve the draft Order, and will work with Business Managers to arrange this. The CCA already requires that the government takes into account representations made by the Devolved Administrations on the CCC’s advice on setting a carbon budget. This is in addition to ongoing close engagement with the Devolved Administrations on carbon budgets, including delivery of existing budgets. In line with the requirements set out in the Act, the government will publish a delivery plan for CB7 as soon as reasonably practicable after Parliament has decided on the CB7 budget level. This is to allow adequate time for CB7 policies and proposals to be developed further – noting that the start of the CB7 period will still be 12 years away – and presented in a delivery plan which meets the legal requirements of Section 14 of the Act. The government will consider views expressed by Parliament in the course of considering the CB7 level when preparing this delivery plan. The government published a delivery plan to meet carbon budgets 4–6 in October 2025 and encourages Parliament to refer to this document as part of its scrutiny of CB7. This publication is an important milestone on the road to CB7 and net zero - the vast majority of emissions reductions and wider benefits such as lower bills in the CB7 period will come from the continuation of these policies. Nevertheless, we recognise the importance of providing clear sectoral pathways to support delivery and give certainty to industry, investors, and the public. The Carbon Budget 7 Impact Assessment provides modelled pathways to illustrate what delivery of CB7 could mean across different sectors, including the scale of abatement required and the role of key technologies, while allowing flexibility ahead of final policy decisions. Following the setting of the CB7 level, there will be a cross-government process to develop and agree the delivery pathway and any new policies required to meet the level. We welcome the Committee’s suggestions, and the elements outlined in this recommendation – including policy instruments, infrastructure readiness, skills and capacity, system constraints and contingency planning – will be considered carefully as we develop the delivery plan. Many of these are already under consideration by government, including the consideration of projected growth in electricity demand from data centres, as addressed in recent correspondence with the Committee. The government keeps delivery risks under regular review and considers alternative me