|
|
|
|
|
UK greenhouse gas emissions
Some of the language we use when talking about climate change can be quite confusing. “Carbon”. “Net-zero”. “Greenhouse gases”. What does it all mean?
Climate change is happening as a result of the build-up of certain gases in the earth’s atmosphere. We call these greenhouse gases, and some of them are more harmful than others. The way to slow climate change down and eventually stop it from happening is to reduce, and eventually eliminate, emissions of these gases.
So why does everyone talk about “carbon” then? Well, “carbon” is just short for carbon dioxide. And as carbon dioxide is one of the problem gases, sometimes it’s just easier to say "carbon" than to say “greenhouse gases”. But it’s usually referring to the same thing.
Although the United Nations oversee and co-ordinate global action to reduce these emissions, individual countries are responsible for what happens within their own borders.
If you want to know what this means in practice for the UK, these pages provide a useful summary and some background information. These should help you better understand where the UK is coming from, where it needs to get to, and how it can get there.
Climate change is happening as a result of the build-up of certain gases in the earth’s atmosphere. We call these greenhouse gases, and some of them are more harmful than others. The way to slow climate change down and eventually stop it from happening is to reduce, and eventually eliminate, emissions of these gases.
So why does everyone talk about “carbon” then? Well, “carbon” is just short for carbon dioxide. And as carbon dioxide is one of the problem gases, sometimes it’s just easier to say "carbon" than to say “greenhouse gases”. But it’s usually referring to the same thing.
Although the United Nations oversee and co-ordinate global action to reduce these emissions, individual countries are responsible for what happens within their own borders.
If you want to know what this means in practice for the UK, these pages provide a useful summary and some background information. These should help you better understand where the UK is coming from, where it needs to get to, and how it can get there.
The UK Net-zero target
The UK has committed to an emissions reduction target of reaching net-zero by 2050. But what does “net-zero” actually mean, and what has the UK committed to? More on this here.
UK emissions
There is an internationally agreed set of principles for countries to use when reporting their greenhouse gas emissions. The UK reports its emissions in accordance with these principles, and publishes the figures as National Statistics. The latest figures, and what these tell us, can be found here.
International aviation & shipping
International aviation and shipping aren’t included in the UK’s emissions as reported for the UN. But those are covered by the UK’s net-zero target. More about this here.
Meeting the UK target – what needs to done?
The UK Government uses what are called carbon budgets to set a pathway to the 2050 target. These are 5-yearly downward steps, comparing emissions in each period with emissions back in 1990 – that’s simply because international reporting is based on that base-year. Find out more about the UK’s carbon budgets here.
Emissions from UK consumption
Under the agreed international approach, the UK reports its emissions on a territorial basis – that is, emissions which occur within the UK’s geographical boundaries. However, countries import and export goods and services from and to other countries, meaning that some of the UK’s consumption gives rise to emissions which occur overseas. If we look at emissions on a consumption basis – so what emissions arising overseas are due to UK consumption – this shows a different picture. Find out what that picture looks like here.
