Global, Regional, and National CO2 Emissions

UNITED KINGDOM

Graphics Digital Data

Trends

The fossil-fuel CO2 emission record for the United Kingdom represents the longest national record of this database and begins in 1751. Since 1950, the United Kingdom has dropped from fourth to eighth in rank among fossil-fuel CO2 emitting nations. Total carbon dioxide emissions in the United Kingdom, 160 million metric tons of carbon in 2004, have been virtually unchanged since 1980 and remain roughly 10% below early 1970s peaks. A marked feature of the time series for the UK is the reliance on coal until the late 1950s. Emissions from coal now account for only 25.8% of the total emissions for the United Kingdom. Emissions from natural gas use grew rapidly in the late 1960s and have doubled since the early 1980s. Natural-gas burning now accounts for 34% of total emissions of CO2.

CITE AS: Marland, G., T.A. Boden, and R.J. Andres. 2007. Global, Regional, and National CO2 Emissions. In Trends: A Compendium of Data on Global Change. Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, Tenn., U.S.A.
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