In 2021, netgreenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in theUnited Kingdom (UK) were 427 million tonnes (Mt)carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), 80% of which wascarbon dioxide (CO2) itself.[1] Emissions increased by 5% in 2021 with the easing ofCOVID-19 restrictions, primarily due to the extra road transport.[1] The UK has over time emitted about 3% of the world total human-caused CO2, with a current rate under 1%, although the population is less than 1%.[2]
Emissions decreased in the 2010s due to the closure of almost allcoal-fired power stations.[3] In 2020emissions per person were somewhat over 6 tonnes when measured by the international standard production basedgreenhouse gas inventory,[4] near the global average.[5] But consumption based emissions include GHG due to imports and aviation so are much larger,[6] about 10 tonnes per person per year.[7]
The UK has committed tonet zero by 2050.[8] The target for 2030 is a 68% reduction compared with 1990 levels.[9] The UK has been successful in keeping its economic growth alongside taking climate change action. Since 1990, the UK's greenhouse gas emissions have been reduced by 50% while the economy has grown by around 79% up until 2022.[10] One of the methods of reducing emissions is theUK Emissions Trading Scheme.[11]
Meeting futurecarbon budgets will require reducing emissions by at least 3% a year. At the2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference the Prime Minister said the government would not be "lagging on lagging", but in 2022 the opposition said Britain was badly behind in suchhome insulation.[12] TheCommittee on Climate Change, an independent body which advises the UK anddevolved government, has recommended hundreds of actions to the government,[13] including betterenergy efficiency, such as in housing.[14][15] In a 2024 report to parliament, the Climate Change Committee stated that only a third of the emissions reductions necessary to meet their 2030 target (68% of 1990 emission levels) were covered by credible plans.[16]
Although carbon dioxide is the main GHG, methane (CH4),nitrous oxide (N2O),hydrofluorocarbons (HFC),Perfluorocarbons (PFC),Nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) andSulphur hexafluoride (SF6) are included.[17]Land use, land-use change, and forestry is the most uncertain sector.[1]: 42
Cumulative CO2 emissions since 1750 are estimated to be around 80 billion tonnes,[18] about 3% of the world total.[2] As well as coal burnt during and since theIndustrial Revolution,destruction of forests also contributed.
Transport is the most emitting sector, theDepartment for Energy Security and Net Zero estimated that it was responsible for about 26% of GHG in 2021.[1] This is mainly due to road vehicles, and particularly cars, burning petrol and diesel, and has declined since 1990 despite the number of vehicles increasing, because of improvements in fuel efficiency in both petrol and diesel cars.[4]
Transport was significantly impacted by COVID-19, as people were instructed to stay at home as much as possible. In 2020, territorial carbon dioxide emissions from the transport sector were 97.2 Mt, 19.6% (23.7 Mt) lower than in 2019, and 22.5% lower than in 1990. In 2020 transport accounted for 29.8% of all territorial carbon dioxide emissions, compared to 33.1% in 2019. The large majority of emissions from transport are from road transport.[19]
Jet zero is the strategy to get to zero aviation emissions by 2050.[20]
Energy in the United Kingdom emitted about a fifth of GHG in 2021, mainly by burning gas to generate electricity.[1]: 18
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There were 50 enterprises in the United Kingdom oil andgas extraction industry with an annual turnover of more than five million pounds as of 2021.[21] ExtractingNorth Sea oil and gas is estimated to directly emit 3.5% of UK GHG.[22] Environmental activists say there should be no newgas fired power stations in the UK.[23]
As of 2021[update] the net GhG and climate change effects ofbiomass fuel are still being researched and debated: one large user isDrax Power Station which aims to be carbon negative, but green groups dispute theircarbon accounting and say that forests would not regrow quickly enough.[24]
UK willphase-out coal in 2024. UK's Eggborough's plant was closed in 2018. The UK had two weeks in May 2019 with all its coal plants switched off for the first time since theIndustrial Revolution began.[25]
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Territorial carbon dioxide emissions from the business sector were estimated to be 59.4 Mt in 2020 and accounted for around 18.2% of all carbon dioxide emissions. There has been a 46.8% decrease in business sector emissions since 1990. Most of this decrease came between 2001 and 2009, with a significant drop in 2009 likely to have been driven by economic factors.[19] TheHumber industrial region is the UK's most emitting region, at 12 million tonnes of CO2 per year.[26] TheConfederation of British Industry said in 2025 that progress towards net zero was helping tolevel-up regions outside London and the south-east.[27]
A 2020 study suggest half of UK's 'true carbon footprint' is created abroad, a large percentage of this can be attributed to imports entering the UK from other countries. International travel can also be included in this sector.[28]
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In 2021, the residential sector emitted almost 70 Mt CO2e, accounting for 16% of all GHG emissions. The main source of emissions in these sectors is the use of natural gas for heating (and for cooking in the case of the residential sector). Therefore the amount various by year depending on the weather.[1]: 21 Emissions from these sectors do not include emissions from the generation of electricity consumed, as these emissions are included in the energy supply sector.[19]
Governments have been criticised for support forhome insulation being stop-start.[29] AtCOP26 Boris Johnson said the UK would not be lagging onlagging but the government was later criticised as doing that.[30]
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Agriculture is responsible for a tenth of emissions.[4][31]
UK peatlands such as theGreat North Bog cover around 23,000 km2 or 9.5% of the UK land area and store at least 3.2 billion tonnes of carbon. A loss of only 5% of UK peatland carbon would equate to the total annual UK anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Healthy peat bogs have a net long-term ‘cooling’ effect on the climate. Peatlands rely on water. When drained, peatlands waste away through oxidation, adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Damaged and degraded peatlands place a substantial financial burden on society because of increased greenhouse gas emissions, poorer water quality and loss of otherecosystem services.[33]The Wildlife Trusts say that selling peat should be banned.[34]
Woody plant encroachment occurring inheathlands, can lead to the release of soil organic carbon, which is not offset by the growth in woody biomass above ground. The removal of conifers from afforested heathland is a recommended measure to reverse this trend.[35]
MPs say thatbottom trawling and dredging is harmful and should be banned in marine protected areas.[36]
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The sectoral graph excludes carbon emissions from internationalaviation and internationalshipping, which together rose by 74.2% from 22.65 to 39.45 million tonnes of carbon dioxide between 1990 and 2004.[39] Reductions inmethane emissions are largely due to a decline in the country's coal industry and to improved landfilling technologies.[40]
TheClimate Change Act 2008 set the country's emission reduction targets.
Before 2019 the UK was legally bound by the Climate Change Act to reduce emissions 80% by 2050, but a new law mandating a 100% cut was under discussion in 2019. According to theCommittee on Climate Change, the UK can cut its carbon emissions down to near zero and so becomecarbon neutral, at no extra cost if done gradually from 2019 to 2050.[41] The law was adopted by the parliament in June 2019.[42]
The "legally binding" targets are a reduction of at least 100% by 2050 (against the 1990 baseline).[43]
It also mandates interim, 5-year budgets, which are:[44]
| Carbon Budget | Carbon budget level | Reduction below 1990 levels |
|---|---|---|
| 1st (2008 to 2012) | 3,018 MtCO2e | 25% |
| 2nd (2013 to 2017) | 2,782 MtCO2e | 31% |
| 3rd (2018 to 2022) | 2,544 MtCO2e | 37% by 2020 |
| 4th (2023 to 2027) | 1,950 MtCO2e | 51% by 2025 |
| 5th (2028 to 2032) | 1,765 MtCO2e | 57% by 2030 |
| 6th (2033 to 2037) | 965 MtCO2e | 78% by 2035 |
Production targets have been criticised for ignoring the emissions embodied in imports, thereby attributing them to other countries, such as China.[45] Including these gives a total for consumption based GHG emissions, also called the UKcarbon footprint, of about 650 Mt a year.[46]
Businesses and employees are given tax breaks for electric cars and a much larger proportion of business vehicle purchases are electric than those of consumers.[47][48] But it is hoped increased supply of used fleet electric cars will eventually result in affordable second-hand electric cars for private buyers,[49] as purchase price is still a barrier for many consumers.[50] It has been suggested thatvalue added tax (VAT) on natural gas used for heating should be raised from 5% to the usual 20% and the proceeds used to help poor people.[51]
TheUK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) is thecarbon emission trading scheme of theUnited Kingdom.[52] It iscap and trade and came into operation on 1 January 2021 following the UK'sdeparture from the European Union.[53] The cap is reduced in line with the UK's 2050net zero commitment.[54]
Carbon Price Support (CPS) is an additional tax, paid by electricity generation companies that use fossil fuels, introduced in 2013 in response to the low prices then on theEuropean Union Emissions Trading System.[55] | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(March 2021) |
The Government is developing a plan to accelerate the decarbonisation of transport. The Transport Decarbonisation Plan (TDP) will set out in detail what government, business and society will need to do to deliver the significant emissions reduction needed across all modes of transport, putting us on a pathway to achieving carbon budgets and net zero emissions across every single mode of transport by 2050.[56][needs update]
Sales of non-electric cars will end by 2030 and hybrids by 2035.
On the domestic level, the UK aims to reduce direct CO2 emissions from homes by 24% by 2030. There are several ways to achieve this goal, such as home insulation, the installation ofheat pumps, and the use of renewable energy such as solar panels.[57]
As of 2022[update] the installation cost of a heat pump is more than a gas boiler, but with the government grant and assuming electricity/gas costs remain similar their lifetime costs would be similar.[58] However the share of heatpumps in the UK is far below the European average.[59]
More waste heat could be saved and used - for example in London.[60]
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Since departure from the EUCommon Agricultural Policy the Agriculture Bill was passed foragriculture in the United Kingdom.[61]
The most common actions to reduce GHG emissions were recycling waste materials, improving nitrogen fertiliser application and improving energy efficiency. These are actions that are relevant to most farm enterprises. Those actions more suited to livestock enterprises had a lower level of uptake.[32]
