The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) released provisional figures on Thursday that showed UK greenhouse gas emissions declined by 4% in 2024. According to official data, territorial greenhouse gas emissions in the United Kingdom decreased from 385 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) in 2023 to 371 MtCO2e in 2024. Compared to 1990, emissions were 54% lower.

DESNZ linked this decrease to a decline in the usage of coal and gas in the industrial and electricity supply sectors. Emissions from the industrial sector decreased by 9%, while emissions from the electricity supply decreased by 15%. Along with higher renewable energy output, higher electricity imports, and the closure of blast furnaces in the steel sector, officials cited the September shutdown of the UK’s last coal-fired power station as a key factor.

Transport and Buildings Remain Major Contributors

Transport continued to be the biggest source of emissions, contributing 30% of the total, even with the overall decrease. Transport-related emissions decreased by 2% as a result of fewer people using diesel-powered vehicles.

Building and product use emissions, which made up 21% of the total, rose by 2%. Officials attributed this increase to increased gas use, which may have been caused by reduced cost and energy pressures.

Temperatures above normal and fewer heating degree days since 2022 also had an impact on emissions. In 2023 and 2024, residential building emissions would have climbed by 4% if weather patterns had followed long-term averages, according to the statistical report.

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Calls for Stronger Renewable Energy Policies

Doug Parr, the policy director for Greenpeace UK, saw the drop in emissions as evidence that the UK’s climate measures were working. He did point out that the nation’s energy supply was still dependent on “expensive and polluting gas.” He cautioned that this reliance was making the UK more susceptible to gas-exporting nations, raising household energy expenses and affecting power prices.

In order to permanently lower prices, Parr urged the government to stop what he dubbed “the great gas rip-off” and hasten the switch to renewable energy. Experts emphasize that although UK greenhouse gas emissions declined by 4% in 2024, continued investment in clean energy and infrastructure is essential to sustaining this trend in the long term.

The study examined emissions from seven greenhouse gases: nitrogen trifluoride, sulfur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, methane, nitrous oxide, and carbon dioxide (CO₂). About 78% of the emissions in 2024 were from CO₂.

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