Britain’s greenhouse gas emissions have nearly halved since 1990, official figures show.
Provisional data on emissions for 2024 show a 43.3 per cent decrease in the last 35 years, marking a huge reduction in the amount of harmful fumes being pumped into the atmosphere.
This includes carbon dioxide (CO2) which is released by burning fossil fuels and traps heat from sunlight, contributing to warming the planet.
The reduction also encompasses methane – a gas produced by the fossil fuel industry and by livestock – and nitrous oxide, which is release by synthetic fertilisers.
Other harmful gases that have been slashed are hydrofluorocarbons, primarily produced for refrigeration and air conditioning and which also have high global warming potential.
The figures, provided by the Office for National Statistics, are indicative of a shift away from coal and the expansion of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.
Frothar on
A significant amount is switching from coal to natural gas. We are doing well but I am not a fan of the current way sentiment is changing against renewables
Trypod_tryout on
Alternative headline, Britain has outsourced X of its gas emissions since 90s
Skylon77 on
More pertinent, what is happening to greenhouse gases in China, India and the US?
MasterSparrow on
Bankrupting the country to lower emissions.
*Looks at China*
What is the fucking point.
Bibsy1099 on
That’s great news. How much have our energy bills risen in that time?
disobey81 on
Yes. We de-industrialized.
But our consumption has increased. Why?
Because we’ve exported that demand elsewhere. They produce and pollute, we consume.
disobey81 on
Yes. We de-industrialized.
But our consumption has increased. Why?
Because we’ve exported that demand elsewhere. They produce and pollute, we consume.
Jimmy_h4t99 on
It’ll be zero once energy is completely unaffordable, master plan!
dontbelieveawordof1t on
Because the industrial base has been shifted to China, it’s nothing to be proud of.
Additional_Olive3318 on
To the people saying the U.K. has exported its carbon emissions.
The formula is
GDP = C + I + G + (X − M)
where
C is consumption,
I is investment,
G is government spending,
X is exports,
M is imports.
So imports are subtracted. However consumption as measured includes the spending on imports (so imports are added there as consumption and subtracted later) but the point is to measure domestic production here
This means that a reduction in emissions can’t be just because of imports. GDP, by definition, counts only domestically produced goods and services. So when you see U.K. GDP rising while territorial emissions fall, that’s not a statistical trick from imports — that’s a real decoupling of economic growth from carbon output within the national economy.
WatzUpzPeepz on
We were first through the gates of the Industrial Revolution so we have to set a good example.
Feel good news for sure but the worry lies in the populous, underdeveloped and comparatively hot countries that have yet to see their peak emissions.
12 Comments
Britain’s greenhouse gas emissions have nearly halved since 1990, official figures show.
Provisional data on emissions for 2024 show a 43.3 per cent decrease in the last 35 years, marking a huge reduction in the amount of harmful fumes being pumped into the atmosphere.
This includes carbon dioxide (CO2) which is released by burning fossil fuels and traps heat from sunlight, contributing to warming the planet.
The reduction also encompasses methane – a gas produced by the fossil fuel industry and by livestock – and nitrous oxide, which is release by synthetic fertilisers.
Other harmful gases that have been slashed are hydrofluorocarbons, primarily produced for refrigeration and air conditioning and which also have high global warming potential.
The figures, provided by the Office for National Statistics, are indicative of a shift away from coal and the expansion of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.
A significant amount is switching from coal to natural gas. We are doing well but I am not a fan of the current way sentiment is changing against renewables
Alternative headline, Britain has outsourced X of its gas emissions since 90s
More pertinent, what is happening to greenhouse gases in China, India and the US?
Bankrupting the country to lower emissions.
*Looks at China*
What is the fucking point.
That’s great news. How much have our energy bills risen in that time?
Yes. We de-industrialized.
But our consumption has increased. Why?
Because we’ve exported that demand elsewhere. They produce and pollute, we consume.
Yes. We de-industrialized.
But our consumption has increased. Why?
Because we’ve exported that demand elsewhere. They produce and pollute, we consume.
It’ll be zero once energy is completely unaffordable, master plan!
Because the industrial base has been shifted to China, it’s nothing to be proud of.
To the people saying the U.K. has exported its carbon emissions.
The formula is
GDP = C + I + G + (X − M)
where
C is consumption,
I is investment,
G is government spending,
X is exports,
M is imports.
So imports are subtracted. However consumption as measured includes the spending on imports (so imports are added there as consumption and subtracted later) but the point is to measure domestic production here
This means that a reduction in emissions can’t be just because of imports. GDP, by definition, counts only domestically produced goods and services. So when you see U.K. GDP rising while territorial emissions fall, that’s not a statistical trick from imports — that’s a real decoupling of economic growth from carbon output within the national economy.
We were first through the gates of the Industrial Revolution so we have to set a good example.
Feel good news for sure but the worry lies in the populous, underdeveloped and comparatively hot countries that have yet to see their peak emissions.