Greenhouse gas emissions

How have the UK's carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions changed over time?

The UK was the first country to industrialise on coal, and its emissions rose for centuries, from 9 million tonnes in 1750 to a peak of 660 million tonnes in 1971.

They have fallen by more than half since then as coal power was phased out.

In 2023, the UK emitted 308 million tonnes of CO₂, the lowest level since 1880 (with the exception of 1926, when a general strike shut down coal mines).

This data is based on domestic emissions; it doesn't adjust for trade or imported goods.

What if we look at emissions per person?

CO₂ emissions per person peaked at 11.8 tonnes in 1971. By 2024, they had more than halved, to 4.5 tonnes.

The country's domestic emissions are below the global average, which is also plotted on the chart for context.

How much does the UK contribute to the world's emissions?

In the chart, you can see two metrics.

First, the UK's share of global emissions in that specific year. Today, the UK emits less than 1% of the world's CO₂.

Second, the UK's contribution to cumulative historical emissions, since 1750. This is important because CO₂ stays in the atmosphere for centuries, and it's this cumulative amount that determines warming over time. The UK has emitted just over 4% of the world's cumulative emissions. That's the fifth-largest share of any country after the United States, China, Russia, and Germany.

In 1850, the UK produced 62% of the world's CO₂ emissions from fossil fuels. That share fell as other countries industrialised: today, the UK emits less than 1% of the world's CO₂ each year.

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is not the only greenhouse gas. Others, including methane and nitrous oxide also contribute to warming.

The UK's total greenhouse gas emissions are shown in the chart below. In 2025, these were 54% lower than emissions in 1990.

Under the Paris Agreement, the UK has committed to cut emissions by 68% from 1990 levels by 2030, to around 255 million tonnes, and by 81% by 2035. The Climate Change Act commits it to net zero by 2050.

How much do the different greenhouse gases contribute to the UK's total?

These are shown in the chart, measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents; this takes each gas in tonnes, and converts it to a common measure based on how much warming one tonne generates compared to CO₂.

Carbon dioxide made up 78% of the UK's greenhouse gas emissions in 2024. Methane, mainly from livestock, landfills and gas leaks, made up 15%, and nitrous oxide, mainly from fertilisers, 6%.

Methane emissions have fallen by 58% since 1990, mostly because less waste goes to landfill.

Emissions have fallen in some sectors far more quickly than in others.

Emissions from electricity supply have fallen by 82%, as coal power stations closed and were replaced by gas, wind and solar.

Emissions from industry fell by 74%, partly because heavy industry declined.

Far less progress has been made in other sectors. Emissions from buildings, mainly gas heating, fell by 27%, from agriculture by 16%, and from domestic transport by just 9%.

Where do the UK's emissions come from today?

Domestic transport is now the UK's largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, contributing 31% in 2025. Buildings made up 22%, agriculture 13%, industry 11% and electricity supply 10%.

Emissions per person are highest in Northern Ireland and Wales: 9.5 and 9.3 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2024, compared to 6.6 tonnes in Scotland, and 4.8 tonnes in England.

All four nations have cut their emissions since 1990, but at different rates. Emissions in England have fallen by 55%, by 52% in Scotland, 45% in Wales and 29% in Northern Ireland.

What are the main sources of emissions across the UK's nations?

In England and Scotland, transport is the largest source.

Agriculture makes up 31% of Northern Ireland's emissions, mainly from its large cattle industry.

Industry makes up 23% of Wales's emissions, much of it from steelmaking at Port Talbot, whose blast furnaces closed in late 2024.

How do emissions compare across local authorities?

This is shown in the chart, with data covering around 90% of UK emissions; it doesn't include aviation, shipping and F-gases.

Emissions per person are lowest in cities, especially London, where households tend to be smaller, driving is less common, and there is little heavy industry.

Most large cities are between 3 and 4.5 tonnes, including Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Belfast, and Cardiff.

They are highest in areas with large industrial sites or peatland: the Western Isles (33 tonnes), High Peak (32 tonnes, from cement and lime works), Neath Port Talbot (29 tonnes) and North Lincolnshire (29 tonnes, from steelworks).

The figures above count emissions produced within the UK's borders. But the UK imports many goods, and the emissions from producing them are allocated to other countries.

Consumption-based emissions attempt to adjust for trade, so they subtract the emissions coming from goods and services exported and consumed elsewhere, and add emissions from goods that are imported.

On this consumption basis, the UK's emissions were 699 million tonnes in 2023, or 10.2 tonnes per person. That's 82% higher than its territorial emissions.

They peaked in 2007 and have fallen by 24% since 1990, which is a smaller fall than territorial emissions (which dropped by 51%).

How much of the UK's consumption-based emissions are produced in the UK, versus those that are embedded in imports?

You can see this breakdown in the chart.

In 2023, 53% of the UK's consumption-based emissions were produced abroad.

Long-run and international CO2 emissions come from the Global Carbon Project, which estimates emissions from fossil fuels and industry for every country from records of fuel use. They exclude emissions from land-use change.

The UK's greenhouse gas emissions come from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), based on the UK's greenhouse gas inventory, which it reports to the UN. They cover emissions within the UK, net of removals by forests and soils, and leave out international aviation and shipping. Different gases are combined in CO2 equivalents, weighting each by how much it warms the climate over 100 years. Figures for 2025 are provisional.

Emissions for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland come from the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory's inventories for each nation, split out from the UK inventory. Local authority emissions are DESNZ's estimates, which cover about 90% of UK emissions and count emissions from electricity where it is used.

Consumption-based emissions come from Defra's estimates of the UK's carbon footprint, which use a model of trade between countries and industries. They are less certain than territorial figures.