A GREENER COUNTRY
THE UK IS SEEING A MASSIVE FALL IN ITS GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
THE UK’s greenhouse gas emissions are at their lowest level since modern records began.
Government figures show that 460 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) in greenhouse gases were produced in 2017 - including carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases.
That is down from the 473 MtCO2e produced in 2016.
It is also 42% lower than the 794 MtCO2e of greenhouses gases produced in 1990 - when comparable records began.
According to the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) there are two main reasons why yearly emissions are falling.
Less natural gas was used for heating homes in the first half of 2017 because the country experienced warmer weather than usual.
This contributed to a 4.2% fall in greenhouse gas productions in the residential sector in 2017 when compared with 2016.
Secondly, emissions in the energy supply sector were also down by 7.6%.
The BEIS said that this fall was driven by a decrease in power station emissions, largely due to the decline of coal usage.
The use of coal at power stations decreased by 89% between 1990 and 2017.
Dr Simon Evans, deputy editor at Carbon Brief said: “UK carbon dioxide emissions have fallen faster than any other major economy and we wanted to find out why.
“The largest reasons are a cleaner electricity mix based on renewables and gas instead of coal, along with lower energy use in homes and businesses.
“Looking ahead, the government plans to phase out coal completely by 2025, but we won’t meet the goals of the Paris Agreement without cuts across all sectors of the economy, including transport where progress to date has been limited.” Transport continues to be the main source of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for 27% per cent of total greenhouse emissions in 2017. Energy supplies accounted for 25% of greenhouse gas emissions, and businesses were responsible for 17%. The residential sector, meanwhile, contributed 15% while for agriculture it was 10%. Waste management, industrial processes and the public also accounted for greenhouse gas emissions.
Dr Jonathan Marshall, head of analysis at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said: “The UK’s inability to tackle transport emissions will be causing concern within Westminster, but fortunately the answer is in plain sight.
“A rapid rollout of electric vehicles, removing the barriers to technological advances such as vehicle-to-grid charging, and investment in public transport are the first steps towards bringing emissions from transport down.
“There are signs of the transport revolution starting to take hold in the UK, but now is the time for ministers to move things into a higher gear.”