Menu Facilitating Net Zero The UK is the first major economy in the world to pledge ‘Net Zero’ carbon emissions by 2050. Hitting the target will mean ending our contribution to global warming. We are determined to actively facilitate the revolution. As an electricity network operator, we are at the heart of enabling Net Zero because of our crucial role both connecting renewable energy and facilitating the uptake of new low carbon technology. More and more major industries are switching from fossil fuels to electricity. We’re actively working with industry and policymakers to facilitate the change. We’re also focused on Net Zero because our 20 million customers in London, the South East and East of England rightly expect us to lead the way in reaching a greener future for all. What is ‘Net Zero’ In July 2019, the UK became the world’s first major economy to make a legal commitment to reaching ‘Net Zero’ greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The goal aims for the amount of carbon we emit to be reduced to almost zero. Any remaining emissions will be offset by removing carbon from the atmosphere. To reach the target, the UK needs to quickly ‘decarbonise’ lots of parts of everyday life including transport, heating, electricity generation, manufacturing, heavy industries and agriculture. It is a significant challenge but we’re determined to lead the way in our industry. Select a segment to find out more about carbon emissions in the UK View All Segments Source: Department of Business Energy & Industrial Strategy and the Office for National Statistics, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, 2018 (latest figures) Where we are making a difference Renewable Energy Producing electricity is a major source of emissions, but in the last ten years we’ve been on an incredible journey to connect unprecedented volumes of renewable energy like solar and wind. By 2030, we forecast 80% of homes on our network will be powered by renewables. Find Out More Electric Vehicles Transport accounts for 28% of total emissions. Electric vehicles produce no carbon emissions from their exhausts and the electricity used to power them can be supplied by renewables. As an electricity network, our role is to make sure we’re ready for an unprecedented large-scale shift to electric transport. Find Out More Heat Decarbonisation We have an established role in enabling renewable energy and electric vehicles. Decarbonising heat is our newest area of focus. It is a major challenge because of its complexity and because the UK’s future policy direction is still under development. We were the first UK network operator to release a standalone Heat Strategy in March 2020. Find Out More Why Net Zero matters to our team Forecasting The Future Data, forecasting and planning is at the heart of facilitating Net Zero. At the end of 2019 we launched our Distribution Future Energy Scenarios (DFES), for which we created bespoke forecasts for approximately 11,000 geographic areas. Read our Market Intelligence Reports Find out more about our data sources Glossary Useful Links Data Sharing Policy Smart Grid Privacy Policy Contact Us General UK Power Networks Home About Us News Have your say Careers Blog Contact Us Login/register Services Infrastructure services DER (DG and storage) resources Competition in Connections G81 Library Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty map Information Privacy policy Terms and conditions Cookie policy Modern Slavery Act Sitemap Accessibility Need help using this website? Useful information Select your language Arabic Bangla French Polish Punjabi Romanian Spanish Turkish Urdu We want to ensure that our website is as accessible and usable as possible and we are committed to constantly improving our website to meet the needs of all users. Find out ways we can help. Cookies We take your data privacy seriously. View our Privacy Policy. View our Cookie Policy. Close