UK GHG emissions increased by 4.7% in 2021

In 2021, total UK territorial greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions increased by 4.7% to 424.5 MtCO₂eq, according to preliminary figures from the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), and CO₂ emissions increased by 6.3% in 2021 to 341.5 MtCO_2eq. Despite this annual rise, total GHG emissions are 5.2% lower than in 2019 and 47.3% lower than in 1990; CO₂ emissions are also 43.6% lower than in 1990. This increase in 2021 is mainly cause by the rise in the use of road transport as nationwide lock-downs were eased, as CO₂ emissions from transport grew by 10% in 2021, accounting for almost half of the overall increase from 2020. CO₂ emissions also increased in the power sector (+9.2%), due to rising demand for electricity and the first increase in the use of fossil fuels for electricity generation from power plants since 2012 (they remained 67% lower than in 1990). Emissions increased by 5.8% in the residential sector, owing to the colder weather in 2021.