Annual change in greenhouse gas emissions in the UK 1991-2020

Greenhouse gas emissions in the United Kingdom typically declined each year since 1990, only increasing in six years during this period. The largest increase was in 2012, when emissions increased by approximately three percent compared with the previous year. In 2009, GHG emissions fell by 8.6 percent due to the global recession. Historically, major events cause emission levels to drop, and this was the case in 2020. Lockdowns and restrictions brought on by the outbreak of COVID-19 saw emissions in 2020 reduce by approximately nine percent from the previous year. Since 1990, greenhouse gas emissions in the UK have fallen by almost 50 percent to an estimated 414.1 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent in 2020.