UK Climate Change Programme Report Published

Department for Environment, Food And Rural Affairs (UK)

UK Climate Change Programme Annual Report To Parliament Published

The Annual Report to Parliament setting out progress of the UK's Climate Change Programme was published by Defra today.

The document brings together material, most of which has been released previously, to provide a full summary of statistical data and Government activity in the field of climate change in the last 12 months.

The report emphasises the importance of both reducing emissions and adapting to the impacts of climate change and outlines emerging policy in this area. It sets out previously published UK emissions data for carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases, along with the steps Government has taken, and proposes to take, to reduce emissions.

Highlights of the report include a number of key statistics:

* Provisional estimates show carbon dioxide emissions during 2007 were around 543.7 million tonnes, 2 per cent lower than the 2006 figure of 554.5 million tonnes. The decrease resulted from fuel switching from coal to natural gas for electricity generation, combined with lower fossil fuel consumption by households and industry.

* Under the Kyoto Protocol, the UK is committed to reducing total greenhouse gas emissions to 12.5 per cent below base year levels by 2008-12. Taking account of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme results, the 2006 final estimates show that emissions of the basket of gases covered by the Protocol fell by 20.6 per cent between the base year and 2006, down from 779.9 to 619.0 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent.

* New carbon dioxide emission projections are estimated at approximately 15.5 per cent below 1990 levels for 2010 and approximately 26 per cent below 1990 levels for 2020.

Alongside the Climate Change Programme Annual Report, the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has today published its fifth annual report on progress on the 2003 Energy White Paper.

A full copy of the report is available at http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climatechange/uk/ukccp/index.htm, while a copy of the Energy White Paper Annual Report is available at http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file46645.pdf.

Website http://www.defra.gov.uk

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