Greenhouse gas emissions in the UK fell by 3.6 per cent in 2024 according to analysis by Carbon Brief.

2024 saw coal use drop to the lowest level since 1666, driven by the closure of the UK’s last coal-fired power station and one of its last blast furnaces, EVs on the road rise by nearly 40 per cent and above-average temperatures, resulting in the UK’s electricity being announced the “cleanest ever”.

Carbon Brief’s analysis, based on preliminary government energy data, shows emissions fell to just 371m tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) in 2024, the lowest level since 1872.

The UK’s emissions are now 54 per cent below 1990 levels, while GDP has grown by 84 per cent.

However, gas demand for heating has increased, despite warmer average temperatures than in 2023, as prices eased from the peaks seen after the global energy crisis. This was, at least, partly balanced by gas demand falling overall due to lower gas-fired electricity generation.

The UK would need to cut its emissions by a larger amount each year than it did in 2024, to reach its international climate goal for 2035, as well as its national target to reach net-zero by 2050.

Carbon Brief.

---