Emissions of air pollutants in the UK - Summary
Updated 12 February 2026
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/emissions-of-air-pollutants/emissions-of-air-pollutants-in-the-uk-summary
1. Summary
This section provides an overview of the information in the full publication. It contains statistics on annual emissions of six air pollutants from 1990 to 2024. The data comes from the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory which estimates emissions using internationally agreed methods and a wide range of survey and administrative data sources, from both inside and outside of government.
The full publication is available here: Emissions of air pollutants in the UK.
Information on levels and trends in emissions of specific pollutants are available from the following links:
Emissions of particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5)
Emissions of non-methane volatile organic compounds
National emissions totals are disaggregated by source (see Methods Document) in the accompanying tables. More detailed emissions totals are available on the NAEI website (see Pivot Table viewer) each year in the summer. Emissions maps and emission totals for each of the four administrations of the UK (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland) are published in the autumn.
2. Contact
Please email us with your feedback to help us make the publication more valuable to you.
As part of our ongoing commitment to compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics we wish to strengthen our engagement with users of air quality data and better understand how the data is used and the types of decisions that they inform. We invite users to register as a “user of Air Quality data”, so that we can retain your details, inform you of any new releases of Emissions statistics and provide you with the opportunity to take part in user engagement activities that we may run. If you would like to register as a ‘user of air quality data’, please provide your details in the linked form.
Enquiries to: AQIE.Correspondence@defra.gov.uk
Lead statistician: Ellie Martell
Production team: Barney Dawes, Neil Ward, Alex Mouatt, Jen Cottingham, George Clark, Alison Davies.
3. Long-term trends in emissions of air pollutants
Figure 1: Trends in annual emissions of particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), nitrogen oxides, ammonia, non-methane volatile organic compounds, and sulphur dioxide, 1990 - 2024
Notes:
- The index line shows the level of annual emissions if they had remained constant at 1990 levels.
- The values of the y-axis represent the percentage of 1990 levels.
Download the data for this chart in CSV format
There has been a long-term decrease in estimated emissions of all of the air pollutants covered by this statistical release (ammonia, nitrogen oxides, non-methane volatile organic compounds, particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5) and sulphur dioxide).
Many factors are responsible for the long-term decrease in emissions of air pollutants:
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The reduction in the use of coal for domestic heating and power generation has been a major factor in reducing emissions of particulate matter.
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The change from using coal to gas for power generation and fitting flue gas desulphurisation equipment to existing coal-fired power stations has been responsible for long-term decreases in emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides.
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Stricter emissions regulation for road transport has led to emissions reductions for nitrogen oxides, NMVOCs and ammonia.
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Stricter emissions limits placed on industry have reduced emissions from solvents, which particularly affects emissions of NMVOCs.
4. Emission Reduction Commitments
The UK has commitments to reduce annual emissions of 5 air pollutants by a percentage of 2005 levels, set in the National Emissions Ceilings Regulations (2018). These are known as emission reduction commitments (ERC), shown in the table below. The UK has met the current domestic and international emission reduction commitments for emissions of ammonia, nitrogen oxides, NMVOCs, PM2.5 and sulphur dioxide. The UK does not have emission reduction commitments for PM10. For more information on the ERCs and ammonia adjustment please see the Background section of this publication.
The below table provides information on the commitments and the compliance status for each pollutant.
| Pollutant | 2005 Emissions (thousand tonnes) | 2024 Emissions (thousand tonnes) | 2020-2029 ERC (%) | Reduction Achieved (%) | Compliance Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammonia | 281 | 256 | 8% | 9% | Compliant |
| Nitrogen oxides | 1599 | 515 | 55% | 68% | Compliant |
| NMVOCs | 1137 | 623 | 32% | 45% | Compliant |
| PM2.5 | 99 | 53 | 30% | 46% | Compliant |
| Sulphur dioxide | 718 | 84 | 59% | 88% | Compliant |
Notes:
- 2020-2029 ERC (%) refers to the percentage reduction from 2005 levels required between the years 2020 and 2029. There is a 2030 emission reduction commitment too, please see here for more details.
- The NECR commitments for NMVOCs and nitrogen oxides exclude emissions from agricultural soils and manure management.
5. Recent trends in emissions of air pollutants
Figure 2: Trends in annual emissions of particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), nitrogen oxides, ammonia, non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), and sulphur dioxide, 2014 - 2024
Notes:
- The index line shows the level of annual emissions if they had remained constant at 2014 levels.
- The values of the y axis represent the percentage of 2014 levels.
Download the data for this chart in CSV format
Estimated emissions of all six pollutants fell from 2023 to 2024. In the most recent ten-year period of emissions estimates, there has been mixed progress in reducing emissions of air pollutants:
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Emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides have continued to fall, with much of the reduction as a result of the decreasing dependence on coal for power generation, although the rate of change has lessened in recent years. Emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from combustion in energy industries have decreased by 83 per cent and decreased by 64 per cent respectively between 2014 and 2024.
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Emissions of nitrogen oxides and NMVOCs from road transport decreased by 54 per cent and decreased by 51 per cent respectively between 2014 and 2024. This is largely the result of tighter emissions standards being introduced for petrol and diesel cars, and the uptake of electric vehicles.
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Between 2014 and 2024, total emissions of PM2.5 and PM10 decreased by 27 per cent and 20 per cent respectively. This was largely due to a reduction in emissions from combustion of coal in both industrial and non-industrial settings, as well as reduced exhaust emissions from road transport. Emissions of particulate matter from the burning of biomass-based fuels have increased over this period.
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Total annual emissions of NMVOCs have decreased by 12 per cent between 2014 and 2024, however the sources of these emissions are changing. Emissions from food and beverages production have increased by 27 per cent, whereas fugitive emissions from energy industries (for example pipeline leaks and gas flaring from oil production) have decreased by 37 per cent, and emissions from coating applications (such as specialist finishes applied to vehicles, wood, metal and plastic products) have decreased by 39 per cent.
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Annual emissions of ammonia have decreased by 4 per cent between 2014 and 2024, with some reduced emissions from activities like road transport (decreased by 31 per cent) and inorganic fertilisers (decreased by 21 per cent) largely offset by increased emissions from other activities such as non-manure digestate spreading (increased by 77 per cent), dairy cattle (increased by 5 per cent) and non-agricultural animals (increased by 20 per cent).
6. Notable sources of emissions of air pollutants in 2024
Emissions of particulate matter originate from a wide range of activity sources, with no single activity dominating. Domestic combustion contributed 20 per cent of emissions of total PM2.5 and 11 per cent of total PM10 emissions in 2024. Non-exhaust emissions from road transport (that is road wear, brake wear and tyre wear) represent 18 per cent of both total PM2.5 emissions and total PM10 emissions in 2024. Industrial combustion contributed 10 per cent of total PM2.5 emissions and 6 per cent of total PM10 emissions in 2024. This refers to the combustion of fuels on manufacturing and construction sites to generate energy for industrial use, not to combustion in energy industries, which contributed 3 per cent of total PM2.5 emissions in 2024. Emissions from construction activity represented 18 per cent of total PM10 emissions and 4 per cent of total PM2.5 emissions in 2024; of which, most emissions come from the construction of roads and non-residential buildings. Quarrying activity contributed 8 per cent of total PM10 and 1 per cent of total PM2.5 emissions in 2024.
Transport is a major source of emissions of nitrogen oxides. Road transport contributed 30 per cent of emissions of nitrogen oxides in 2024 and other forms of transport (aviation, rail, and shipping) contributed 13 per cent.
The combustion of fuels in energy industries were still major sources of emissions of sulphur dioxide (contributed 33 per cent) and nitrogen oxides (contributed 20 per cent) in 2024. However, annual emissions from this source have decreased rapidly in recent years as the UK has moved away from using coal for energy production.
Levels and trends in emissions of ammonia are largely driven by activity in the agricultural sector, primarily linked to herd sizes and the extent of fertiliser spreading. This sector contributed 89 per cent of emissions of ammonia in 2024. Other notable sources of ammonia emissions in 2024 are non-agricultural animals (e.g. domestic pets and horses) (5 per cent) and the waste sector (3 per cent).
There are many sources of emissions of NMVOCs. Domestic use of solvents (often found in household products such as cleaners, aerosols and cosmetics) contributed 23 per cent to total emissions of NMVOCs in 2024. Emissions from the food and beverages industry have also increased recently and contributed 17 per cent of total emissions in 2024. Emissions from industrial solvent use and chemicals manufacture are still considerable sources of emissions, contributing a combined 18 per cent of total NMVOC emissions in 2024, but these have reduced substantially in the long-term.
Levels and trends in emissions from specific sources are available for the period from 1990 to 2024 through the statistical tables that accompany this release.
Sections in this release
Emissions of particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5)
Emissions of non-methane volatile organic compounds
Methods and quality processes for UK air pollutant emissions statistics (PDF)