UK CO2 emissions drop in 2011

5th March 2012

Provisional energy consumption figures published on 23rd February show that UK consumption fell by 7% in 2011, dipping to 202.7 million tonnes of oil equivalent compared with 218 Mtoe the preceding year. The energy and climate department (DECC) is due to follow this report at the end of March with the release of a provisional estimate of the UK’s 2011 greenhouse gas emissions.

Ahead of the DECC report, ENDS has used the emissions figures and data on the changes in use of coal, oil and gas over the year to estimate the GHG emissions. This analysis indicated that the UK CO2 emissions fell by 7.4% in 2011. This drop, which has been partially linked to the warm weather experienced throughout the year, effectively reverses the 3.8% rise in emissions in 2010.

The preliminary consumption report shows that in 2011 gas supplied 41% of electricity, coal supplied 32% and 20% was nuclear. In 2010 though gas played a larger role as unplanned outages at nuclear plants led to 48% of electricity being provided by gas. The report also shows that the amount of oil that was imported into the UK exceeded exports for the first time since the 1970s.