According to a report just published the United Kingdom’s carbon emissions fell for the sixth consecutive year in 2018, hitting some of the lowest levels seen since 1888.
The data by research group Carbon Brief claimed 2018’s decline marked the longest series of annual emissions reductions on record.
However, the 1.5 per cent decrease was the smallest in the six-year run, which Carbon Brief said could signal the end of the downturn.
According to the report, the UK’s CO2 emissions in 2018 were an estimated 361 million tonnes, 39 per cent lower than they were in 1990.
With the exception of three years on record, when mass strikes took place in 1893, 1921 and 1926, last year’s emissions were the nation’s lowest since 1888.
As Carbon Brief noted, outside of those anomalous years 2018’s emissions were at the lowest level since the year when “the first-ever Football League match was played and Tower Bridge was being built in London”.
Per-capita emissions in the UK fell to 5.4tCO2 in 2018, the lowest level since 1858.
It puts the country on a par with France, which has long been hailed as the large industrialised economy with the lowest per capita emissions thanks in large part to its reliance on nuclear power.
Carbon Brief’s findings were based on an analysis of official data from the British government.
Since 1990, the UK has cut its emissions faster than any other major world economy, Carbon Brief’s report claimed.
A key driver for the ongoing reduction was reduced coal use, which fell by 16 per cent between 2017 and 2018.
According to the report, emissions from coal now make up just seven per cent of the UK’s total annual CO2 output, having fallen by around 80 per cent over the past six years.
This is expected to decline further as power stations fuelled by coal continue to close ahead of a 2025 phase out deadline.
Meanwhile, oil and gas use were flat, the data showed.
While emissions generated by gas use were unchanged, emissions from oil increased by four per cent in 2018.
Dr Simon Evans, deputy editor of Carbon Brief, said via email: “These latest figures show the UK has cut emissions again even as its economy grows.
“However, there are signs the recent run of reductions could be coming to an end, indicating the UK will need to accelerate work in sectors such as construction and transport to meet future targets.”
Carbon Brief’s new analysis suggests the many warnings about the slow decarbonisation rate in the transport, building, industry, and agricultural sectors had some merit.
Carbon Brief’s analysis echoes recent warnings from the Committee on Climate Change detailing how emission reductions outside the power sector range from the modest to the non-existent.
Transport is now the largest source of UK greenhouse gas emissions and no other sector has got anywhere close to matching the emissions reduction trajectory achieved by the power sector.
