Another No.1 for Brexit Britain – They just keep on coming

The UK is the first G20 economy to halve emissions, latest data shows

Montage © Facts4EU.Org 2024

New official statistics confirm the UK has cut emissions by 50% between 1990 and 2022

The UK is the first major G20 economy to halve its greenhouse gas emissions – having cut them by 50% between 1990 and 2022, while also growing its economy by 79% - new official statistics released on Tuesday confirm. This compares to a 23% reduction in France and no change in the USA between 1990 and 2021.

With renewables now accounting for more than 40% of the country’s electricity – up from just 7% in 2010, this shows the UK is leading the way on cleaner energy.

These reductions are largely due to cutting emissions from energy generation, through the shift away from using coal to using renewables. In 2012, coal provided almost 40% of UK electricity, but later this year (2024) this is predicted to fall to zero. Meanwhile Germany – the EU’s No.1 economy – has shut down all its nuclear power plants and has been increasing its use of coal-fired power stations.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

UK greenhouse gas emissions

In million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e), 1990-2022
As reported to the IPCC

1990 : 812.4 million tonnes
2022 : 406.2 million tonnes
Reduction : 50.0%

[Source : Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, 06 February 2024.]

The UK has cut emissions faster than any other G7 country over the last decade

Not only has the UK cut emissions faster than any other major economy since 1990, but it also has some of the most ambitious legally-binding targets. The Sunak government says it plans to cut emissions by 68% by 2030, which is more than the EU, Japan or the United States.

Tuesday’s statistics also confirmed the UK has over-achieved on its third carbon budget – making this the third carbon budget target in a row for which the UK has over-achieved, as it did for the first and second carbon budgets.

Commenting, Energy Security Secretary Claire Coutinho said:

“The UK is the first major economy - of the top 20 countries - to halve its emissions. This is an enormous achievement by itself but also because we have done this in a pragmatic way - growing our economy by 80% at the same time and protecting family finances.
“We have also increased our renewables electricity generation from just 7% in 2010 to nearly 50% now.
“With some of the most ambitious targets in the world, we should be proud that we’ve over-achieved on our carbon budget for the third time in a row. We will continue to meet out targets but in a pragmatic way that doesn’t clobber extra costs onto hard working families.”

Tuesday’s publication from the ‘Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’ covers greenhouse gas emission statistics up to 2022, and shows they were 50% lower in 2022 than in 1990.

2022 saw an overall fall in greenhouse gas emissions in the UK – with a decrease of 3.5% from 2021, and 9.3% lower when compared to 2019, the most recent pre-pandemic year.

Observations

Our report above shows that whatever people feel about the race to Net Zero - and the Facts4EU team are not big fans - Brexit Britain is at the top of the G20 when it comes to achievement.

After this big win, we suggest the Government now takes its foot off the gas (so to speak) and lets other countries catch up with the newly independent United Kingdom.

We must get reports like this out there

Reports like the one above take far longer to research, write and produce than many people realise. If they were easy, readers would see other organisations also producing these daily. However, there’s little point in the Facts4EU.Org team working long hours, seven days-a-week, if we lack the resources to promote them effectively – to the public, to MPs, and to the media. This is where you come in, dear reader.

Facts4EU.Org needs you today

We are a 'not for profit' team (we make a loss) and any payment goes towards the actual work, not plush London offices, lunch or taxi expenses, or other luxuries of some organisations.

We badly need more of our thousands of readers to become members, to support this work. Could this be you, today? It's quick and easy, we give you a choice of two highly secure payment providers, and we do NOT ask you for further support if you pay once. We just hope you keep supporting us. Your membership stays anonymous unless you tell us otherwise.

Please don't assume that other people will keep us going - we don't receive enough to survive and we need your help today. Could you help us? We rely 100% on public contributions from readers like you.

If you believe in a fully-free, independent, and sovereign United Kingdom, please join now by clicking on one of the links below or you can use our Support page here. You will receive a personal, friendly ‘thank you’ from a member of our team within 48 hours. Thank you.

[ Sources: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Fri 09 Feb 2024

Click here to go to our news headlines

Please scroll down to COMMENT on the above article.
And don't forget actually to post your message after you have previewed it!

Something to say about this? Scroll down for reader comments

Since before the EU Referendum, Brexit Facts4EU.Org
has been the most prolific researcher and publisher of Brexit facts in the world.

Supported by MPs, MEPs, & other groups, our work has impact.

We think facts matter. Please donate today, so that we can continue to ensure a clean Brexit is finally delivered.

Any credit card user

Quick One-off

From £5 - £1,000

Monthly

From £3 per month

Paypal Users Only - Choose amount first

Quick One-off

Monthly

PLEASE NOTE IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT : You can write your comment under any existing comments below. After you have clicked to preview your comment, you MUST then click on the CAPTCHA system and send you comment, for it to be published. Thank you!

Reader Comments 15

1. Ashley Great Britain , Friday, February 09, 2024, 07:02:

It's great that we are leading the way in reducing emissions, A cleaner environment is essential to us all. Green energy now needs to demonstrate quickly that it can reduce our bills. Most peoples gas and electricity bills seem to have doubled in the last few years and that is unsustainable.
Clean Cheap energy must be the goal to the benefit of all.
Let's hope Greta thunberg and just stop oil go to the USA /China etc where they are most needed.

2. Old Albion , Friday, February 09, 2024, 08:14:

Whopeedoo. Shame China/India/US and others will have replaced our reduction. several times over.

3. Wolfie , Friday, February 09, 2024, 09:24:

Our consocialist neo-liberal politicians (Govt) have failed us by not fully embracing the benefits of our hard earned Brexit would bring.

4. IAN SCHOFIELD , Friday, February 09, 2024, 10:00:

This isn’t something to be proud of, it just shows how weak the UK government is.
The earth variably rotates around a 2(followed by 27 0s)tonne nuclear reactor. A 0.04% trace gas essential for life is not the problem. Environmental straitjackets are put in place by foreign and other influential powers to reduce the UK’s power and influence.
By all means clean up exhaust fumes and reduce pollutants as much as possible. But do it in a managed and affordable way with a long term viable solution. Simply off-shoring emissions at prohibitively expensive prices is negligent at best and wilfully dishonest at worst.

5. Harry Potter , Friday, February 09, 2024, 10:01:

I am all for Brexit Britain, however, I have to say we would have halved the emissions even if we were in the EU so it's not actualy a Brexit benefit.
This site should get back to Brexit basics and cut out these silly nothing to do with Brexit stories that keep popping up.
Why is there no mention of the farmers in France that are shafting the EU good and proper? Go on Twitter and various scum Rejoiners have been scaremongering the British with stories of empty shelves in our supermarkets. for months yet you dont address this, why no story of the slavery thats going on on EU food farms?
Get back to Brexit basics and stop going back to events three or four years old

6. Have You Wondered , Friday, February 09, 2024, 11:16:

.
Mmmm.....I wonder what the world's pollution chart would look like if all the respective countries took back their outsourced production to in house?
.

7. KB , Friday, February 09, 2024, 12:34:

How much of this reduction is because of the high energy prices ?
If we've achieved reductions through making our country cold, poor and unemployed, it is not really an achievement.

8. Northern Muppet , Friday, February 09, 2024, 13:03:

Well, I'm terribly sorry, but I don't see this as a good news story in any way, shape or form!!
.
We have reduced our carbon emissions at the expense of so many areas of our lives!! Can you imagine a developed country like ours, that cannot make its own steel?? This is madness of the highest order!
.
'Green' energy is NEVER going to be as cheap as coal/oil/gas and perhaps nuclear. The number of eco-nutcases who seem to state - without challenge - that wind is the cheapest form of energy need to come any have a ook at my bill. It's up more than 130% over the last couple of years. While these same eco-nutcases claim that this is because of the rise on global energy prices, I'm firmly of the opinion that it's driven in large part by the subsidies that we're ALL paying on this green nonsense!!
.
Many years ago I read a book by Nigel Lawson - An Appeal to Reason. It laid the foundations for my scepticism for all this guff!
.
And where will the protesters go now that we've achieved this?? Will they go to Beijing or Mumbai? No, they stay here because they know that our spineless politicians (I'm looking at you, too, Boris!!) will turn to jelly at the first sniff of a thrown tin of tomato soup!

9. jon iivesey , Friday, February 09, 2024, 18:56:

I think the important thing here is that this demonstrates that it can be done. Progress is often made by demonstrating that a pilot scheme can be made to work, not because a pilot scheme by itself makes a big difference but because it demonstrates that the *techniques* work. The same technique that makes a small difference in a pilot scheme can make a big difference when deployed full scale.
If the UK Govt. wants to make this a valuable contribution, it's not enough to announce the achievement. They should also invite more polluting countries to come to the UK and see how we did this. For example, it would make a significant difference to European pollution if German experts came to the UK and studied the mix of energy sources the UK uses and the detailed economics of the incentives that got us to this point.
Just because we are now out of the EU, that does not mean we can't show the way to lower pollution to our neighbours. It also does not mean that we can't treat Europe, rather than individual countries, as a bigger natural unit for energy generation. It fact, one such scheme is already under way which involves expanding non-polluting wind power in the UK EEZ and using the extra energy to produce hydrogen from seawater, and then piping that hydrogen across the North Sea to Germany where it can be burned, again causing minimal pollution.
Escaping Europe's politics does not mean we can't help make Europe more efficient and less polluting. They just have to have the wisdom to accept UK expertise when it is offered.

10. Gazzablack , Friday, February 09, 2024, 19:41:

A couple of related news items
.
1, Britain's first 'private' nuclear power station is to be built on Teeside.
It will comprise four small modular nuclear reactors of the type previously championed by Boris.
They could be in operation before Hinckley point C, and we'll before Sizewell B
(The taxpayer isn't involved)
.
2, A UK based nuclear fusion lab set a new world record for energy generation through fusion.
.

15 comments, page 1 of 2

Add comment:

Please note: Your email address is never published unless you choose to enter it.