A carbon brief has revealed that the United Kingdom’s carbon dioxide emissions have dropped 29 percent since 2010. The analysis found that carbon emissions dropped 2.9 percent last year alone, bringing 2019 emissions down to 1988 levels.
The drop in emissions is largely attributed to coal use reductions, with carbon emissions from coal dropping by as much as 80 percent, while natural gas lowered by 20 percent and oil 6 percent.
This drop comes after significant effort on behalf of the UK to adhere to emissions reductions goals set by the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015. According to the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), the UK was the first country to introduce legally binding nationwide legislation to address climate change when they passed the 2008 Climate Change Act. The efforts seem to be paying off. The act includes a 2050 target for emissions reductions, five-yearly ‘carbon budgets,’ and a climate change adaptation plan.
While the UK is taking steps to meet its carbon budget goals, it needs to further reduce emissions by 31 percent in the next decade to meet its target. These significant emissions reductions are a great start to addressing some of the world’s most dire climate concerns.
