THE STRUGGLE FOR NET ZERO

The UK has made some progress but still needs to slash greenhouse gas emissions by about two thirds

TOTAL GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS BY TOP 10 INDUSTRY SECTIONS, 1990 TO 2020 AND (PROVISIONAL) 2021

GREENHOUSE gas emissions produced by households and businesses increased last year - but remain below 2019 levels as Britain strives to achieve net zero. In 2021 over 505 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2E) were produced on a “residence basis", meaning by British residents and Uk-registered businesses, regardless of whether they are based in the country or overseas.

That was an increase of 6% from 2020 - but that year the pandemic meant that far fewer people were using the roads or public transport, and many industries ground to a halt during lockdowns.

However, it was 8% below the 546m tonnes of CO2E produced by UK businesses and households in 2019, showing Britain is making some progress towards its climate goal.

“Consumer expenditure” is the largest contributor to UK emissions, accounting for 27% of greenhouse gas emissions in 2021. That was mainly from people heating their homes and travelling, including commuting, social calls, and holiday travel.

Just under 135 million tonnes of CO2E was produced by consumers last year, which was 3% below 2019 levels. Of that, 44% came from travel.

That was followed by the electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply industry (86m tonnes of CO2E in 2021) and then the manufacturing industry (85m tonnes).

The transport and storage industry has seen the biggest fall in greenhouse gas emissions since 2019, a drop of 33% - although most sectors have made progress over the last two years.

However, the Real Estate industry has seen the biggest increase in emissions since 2019, of 8%.

It comes as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak represents the UK at COP27, the summit in Sharm El-sheikh, Egypt which aims to bring governments together to accelerate global efforts to tackle climate change.

Mr Sunak - who had initially said he was too busy with domestic issues to attend the climate summit - told COP27: “When Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II addressed COP27 last year, she reflected how history has shown that when nations come together in common cause, there is always room for hope.

“I believe we found room for hope in Glasgow.

“With one last chance to create a plan that would limit global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees, we made the promises to keep that goal within reach.

“And the question today is this: Can we summon the collective will to deliver them? I believe we can.”

The 1.5 degrees target is important because scientists believe that will limit the worst impacts of climate change. A rise of 2.0 degrees above pre-industrial levels would see sea levels rise by 10cm by 2100, causing flooding, habitat destruction, and dangerous weather events like hurricanes; while around 1.7 billion would experience severe heatwaves and millions would be exposed to severe drought.

But at the current rate of global warming, temperatures are predicted to rise by 2.7 degrees before the end of the century.

Achieving net zero - necessary if the world is to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees - would mean the UK’S total greenhouse gas emissions would be equal to or less than the amount removed from the environment, for example naturally by planting more trees, or by using technology such as carbon capture.

The UK has a long-term emissions target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050, compared to 1990 levels.

In 1990 the UK produced 833m tonnes of CO2E, meaning emissions have dropped by 39% since then. To hit its target, emissions would need to fall to about 167m tonnes of CO2E - which means emissions must still be reduced by about 67% from the current output.