GHG emissions in the UK dipped by 3.6% in 2019

According to provisional figures from the British Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United Kingdom declined by 3.6% in 2019 to 435 MtCO₂eq., i.e. 45% below their 1990 level. Net emissions of CO₂, which accounted for 81% of total UK GHG emissions, decreased by 3.9% in 2019 to 351.5 MtCO₂ (41% below their 1990 level). The drop in CO₂ emissions is linked to the decrease in emissions from the power sector (-13.2% in 2019 to 90.1 MtCO₂), which shifted away from coal and towards renewables (renewables and nuclear accounted for 48% of the power mix in 2019, up from 22% in 1990). Transports remained the largest emitting sector, accounting for 34% of UK emissions in 2019, but its emissions fell by 2.8% in 2019 to 120 MtCO₂.

In June 2019, the United Kingdom adopted a law requiring to bring all GHG emissions to net-zero by 2050. This means that the UK will continue to cut its GHG emissions and that residual emissions will have to be balanced by schemes to offset an equivalent amount of GHG, such as planting trees or using technology like carbon capture and storage (CCS).