Data show that UK greenhouse gas emissions will fall by 5.4% in 2023

Natural gas consumption for power generation will decrease by 21.1% in 2023

UK greenhouse gas emissions fell by 5.4% in 2023, mainly due to reduced use of natural gas at power stations, according to official figures released on Thursday.

Net emissions of all greenhouse gases are expected to be 384.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2023, compared with 406.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2022, provisional government data shows.

Carbon dioxide emissions fell by 6.6% annually to 302.8 million tonnes, part of a 52.7% reduction in total greenhouse gas emissions since 1990.

The report said that natural gas consumption for power generation will fall by 21.1% in 2023, “mainly due to increased imports of electricity from France and continued decline in UK electricity demand.”

The report added that the reduction in demand was mainly due to “increased efficiencies brought about by technological advances and the decline in the relative importance of energy-intensive industries.”

High energy prices may also be a factor, with less fuel used to heat buildings and used by industry, the report said.

By 2023, nuclear and renewable energy will account for 56.7% of electricity generation fuels, up from 22.2% in 1990.

Domestic transport remains the UK’s largest source of emissions, accounting for 29.1% in 2023, almost all from carbon dioxide, with the main source being petrol and diesel used in road vehicles.

However, emissions from the sector fell by 1.4% in 2023, the first fall since 2020, when travel was severely restricted due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Germany reported in January that carbon dioxide emissions would fall by 9.8% in 2023 due to a sharp drop in coal consumption and a crisis in the industrial sector.

France said last week that domestic greenhouse gas emissions fell 4.8% over the same period.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)