Greenhouse gas emissions in the UK - Statistics & Facts
Why have the UK’s emissions fallen?
The UK’s declining GHG emissions have mainly been due to cutting emissions from electricity generation. Since 1990, emissions from the sector have fallen by more than 70 percent to less than 55 MtCO2e per year. The overall driving factor for these significant reductions has been the shift away from coal and the transition toward natural gas and renewable sources like wind and solar. Low-carbon energy sources now account for around 57 percent of the UK’s power mix, while coal’s share has fallen from 80 percent in 1990 to almost zero today.Electricity supply was once the largest contributor to UK GHG emissions, but it has now dropped below the domestic transportation, building, and industry sectors. As of 2022, the two single largest sources of emissions were road transportation and homes, with shares of roughly 25 and 14 percent, respectively.
The UK’s pathway to net-zero by 2050
As one of the ten biggest emitters in history, the UK is considered to have an obligation to help limit rising temperatures and tackle the climate crisis. As such, the UK government has committed to reducing emissions by at least 100 percent by 2050 from the 1990 baseline. This involves meeting various, legally binding, emission reduction targets along the way. The UK over-achieved on the third carbon budget period, which required an emissions reduction of 38 percent by 2022 from 1990 levels. It is also likely to meet its fourth carbon budget target of 52 percent by 2027.The UK government has adopted several ambitious pledges in its bid to become a zero-carbon economy by 2050. These include, among others, the decarbonization of the power sector by 2035, making 80 percent of new car sales zero emissions by 2030, installing millions of electric heat pumps, and using carbon capture technologies to store over 50 MtCO2 per year by 2035. However, experts have warned that more needs to be done for the country to achieve its net-zero goal, especially in the wake of the government weakening some of its climate pledges, such as delaying bans on petrol and diesel cars, as well as issuing new North Sea oil and gas licenses.