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- In 2020, net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United Kingdom (UK) were a little over 400 million tonnes (Mt) carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), of which about 320 Mt was carbon dioxide (CO2). The government estimates that emissions increased by 6% in 2021 with the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, about half of the increase being due to the extra road transport. The UK has emitted about 3% of the world total human caused CO2, although the population is less than 1%. Emissions decreased in the 2010s due to the closure of almost all coal-fired power stations. In 2020 emissions per person were somewhat over 6 tonnes when measured by the international standard production based greenhouse gas inventory, near the global average. But consumption based emissions include GHG due to imports and aviation so are much larger, about 10 tonnes per person per year. The UK has committed to carbon neutrality by 2050 and the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit has said it would be affordable. The target for 2030 is a 68% reduction compared with 1990 levels. One of the methods of reducing emissions is the UK Emissions Trading Scheme. Meeting future carbon budgets will require reducing emissions by at least 3% a year. At the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference the Prime Minister said the government would not be "lagging on lagging", but in 2022 the opposition said Britain was badly behind in such home insulation. The Committee on Climate Change, an independent body which advises the UK and devolved government, has recommended hundreds of actions to the government, including better energy efficiency, such as in housing. (en)
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