Industry | 2010.03.25
UK greenhouse gas emissions drop by 8.6%
Economic contraction and move away from fossil fuels saw overall emissions fall from 533m tonnes to 481m tonnes in 2009
The recession and a switch from coal to nuclear power helped produce a dramatic drop in Britain\'s greenhouse gas emissions over the last year, new government figures show .
Emissions of the main greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, fell 9.8% in 2009, while overall output of a group of six greenhouse gases fell 8.6%.
According to the Department for Energy and Climate Change (Decc), the estimated decrease in CO2, from 533m tonnes in 2008 to 481m tonnes in 2009, was mainly caused by a significant fall in energy consumption as the economy contracted. A switch from coal to nuclear for electricity generation also helped, the department said.
Joan Ruddock, energy and climate change minister, said: "The significant reduction in emissions would no doubt have been impacted by the recent economic circumstances. However, we should still recognise the good progress we are making towards meeting our [climate change] targets, and should not underestimate the effort made so far by government, industry, business and homeowners alike. We are determined to continue to strengthen and sustain the momentum behind the low-carbon transition in the UK."
David Symons, director at environment consultants WSP Environment & Energy, said: " The recession was forecast to reduce emissions by 3 to 7% last year. That the UK actually achieved a reduction of 8.6% in greenhouse has emissions in 2009 is very encouraging."
But Andy Atkins, head of Friends of the Earth, said: "These figures suggest that UK emissions have fallen more in one year than in all the other years of the Labour government put together, but it\'s taken a major recession to make this happen."
Decc said the biggest falls in emissions in 2009 came from businesses and industrial processes, while a drop in domestic consumption of fossil fuels for space heating – because last year was slightly warmer than 2008 – led to a drop in domestic emissions of 5%.
Public sector emissions fell by just 0.1%, while transport emissions, not including international flights and shipping, fell 7% because of lower fuel consumption in the face of the recession and greater use of biofuels, Decc said.
The UK is on track to exceed its Kyoto protocol target for the period 2008-2012, which is a 12.5% cut in greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels. But environmental campaigners point out this has been achieved in part by the increasing use of gas to generate electricity and the export of manufacturing to other countries, rather than specific emissions reduction policies.
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/20[...]-greenhouse-gas-emissions-drop
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