New statistics from the UK’s Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) show the UK is experiencing a steady reduction in emissions, mainly due to coal to gas switching in power generation.
The data includes final figures for 2015 and provisional statistics for 2016, showing emissions have fallen around 10% in the last two years - 4% in 2015 and 6% in 2016.
This means the UK should meet its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 29% by the end of this year - staying within the second carbon budget level for the period 2013 to 2017, which is 2,782MtCo2e. UK greenhouse gas emissions from 2013 to 2015 reached 1,569MtCO2e.
Power generation is driving the shift, with the biggest reductions coming from a change in fuel mix away from coal and towards gas and renewables. Coal’s share of the mix dropped from 22.3% in 2015 to 9.1% last year, while gas expanded from 29.5% to 42.4%. Renewables have also risen since 2013, but fell back slightly last year due to relatively calm weather.
Renewables’ share is expected to keep rising over upcoming years as more large scale offshore wind farms are brought onstream. But plans for new nuclear are looking increasingly uncertain, especially with the bankruptcy filing from Toshiba’s Westinghouse division, which is behind new projects in Cumbria. Gas continues to be the most reliable and flexible option, frequently meeting over 50% of the country’s daily power needs.
