UK emissions falling, latest official figures claim
Greenwise Staff
4th February 2009
Greenhouse gas emissions fell by 1.7 per cent in 2007, according to latest Government figures, which appear to show the UK is on track to do better than its Kyoto commitment.
However, the figures have been criticised for not including emissions from aviation and shipping. They also include emission trading credits, whereby the UK can deduct emissions by buying in credits from other countries.
The Department for Energy and Climate Change said yesterday that greenhouse gas emissions totalled 636.6 million tonnes in 2007, the last full year for which figures are available. The total for 2006 was 647.9 million tonnes. Emissions from carbon dioxide, the biggest source of greenhouse gas, were down from 551.1 million tonnes to 542.6 million.
Emissions from the energy supply sector decreased by 1.8 per cent, while the residential sector saw a 4.6 per cent drop and the business sector, a 2.6 per cent decline.
The Government said there had, however, been an increase in emissions of one per cent from the transport sector and 9.5 per cent from industrial processes, among other sectors.
The UK Government has pledged to cut carbon emissions by 20 per cent from 1990 levels by 2010 and under the Kyoto Protocol is legally obliged to reduce UK greenhouse gas emissions to 12.5 per cent below 1990 levels between 2008-2012.
Against these emission reduction goals, the Government said its greenhouse gas emissions were 21.7 per cent lower in 2007 than in 1990 and its carbon dioxide emissions were 12.8 per cent lower for the same period.
The Government has since passed the UK Climate Change Act, in which it is now legally bound to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050. Aviation and shipping are included in that target, however, their exclusion in current data is in accordance with international rules.
The UK's share of international shipping and aviation emissions accounts for 7.6 per cent of the UK's total carbon dioxide emissions. Campaigners say their omission from data distorts the true picture.
"The reality is that UK carbon dioxide emissions are still higher than when Labour came to power in 1997, despite repeated promises of significant cuts,” said Friends of the Earth's climate campaigner Robin Webster.