CO2 emissions lowest in a century

The UK's CO² emissions are the lowest in more than a century; however transport is failing to pull its weight, according to a new report.

Fresh analysis has highlighted how transport remains the UK’s biggest single source of CO² emissions and the only sector not to have seen a decline since 1990.

Carbonbrief.org reports that overall carbon dioxide emissions are down for a record sixth year in a row and some 39% below 1990 levels.

It puts the latest estimated 1.5% reduction down to falling coal use, down 16% compared to a year earlier, whereas oil and gas use were largely unchanged.

In fact, UK CO² emissions were at an estimated 361 million tonnes (MtCO²) in 2018, which makes this the lowest since 1888.

However the report explains that 'transport is now the single-largest sector within the UK’s CO2 emissions total'.

'This is because transport emissions have barely changed since 1990, while most other sectors have declined.'

The full report is here.