Statistics confirm UK has halved greenhouse gas emissions

The UK has become the first major economy to halve its greenhouse gas emissions – having cut them by 50% between 1990 and 2022 – according to new official statistics from the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero.

This compares to a 23% reduction in France and no change in the USA between 1990 and 2021.

Even as emissions rose in some areas in 2021 due to COVID recovery, overall UK greenhouse gases fell 3.5% last year and 9.3% below pre-pandemic 2019 levels.

These reductions are largely due to cutting emissions from energy generation, with renewable sources like wind and solar now accounting for over 40% of the UK’s electricity. This is a significant rise from just 7% in 2010.

At the same time, the British economy has grown by 79%, which the government says demonstrates that tackling climate change does not have to come at the cost of jobs and growth.

Coal power, which used to provide almost 40% of UK electricity, will be almost entirely phased out by 2024, part of Britain’s switch away from fossil fuels to clean energy.

The 50% reduction in emissions means the UK has exceeded expectations on its previous two carbon budgets and remains on track for its ambitious 2030 target of a 68% cut.

The Association for Decentralised Energy’s (ADE) senior policy manager, Chris Friedler, comments:

“The figures are a major good news story for our nation and the world, and the UK can be proud of its role in leading the charge in the fight against climate change. It also brings the Fourth Carbon Budget target for 2025 into easy reach, a policy that little over a decade ago was considered radical, proving ambition and vision can pay off.

“However, the biggest challenge is yet to come, with some of the slower decarbonising sectors now needing more attention, and critically, realistically ambitious policies. At the halfway point, the UK must stay the course.”

Energy security secretary Claire Coutinho says:

“The UK is the first major economy – of the top 20 countries – to halve its emissions. This is an enormous achievement by itself but also because we have done this in a pragmatic way – growing our economy by 80% at the same time and protecting family finances. We have also increased our renewables electricity generation from just 7% in 2010 to nearly 50% now.”