Final UK greenhouse gas emissions national statistics: 1990 to 2020
Final estimates of UK territorial greenhouse gas emissions.
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This publication provides the final estimates of UK territorial greenhouse gas emissions going back to 1990. Estimates are presented by source in February of each year. They are updated in March of each year to include estimates by end-user, and in June to include estimates by Standard Industrial Classification (SIC).
These statistics covers emissions that occur within the UK’s borders. When emissions are reported by source, emissions are attributed to the sector that emits them directly. When emissions are reported by end-user, energy supply emissions by source are reallocated in accordance with where the end-use activity occurred. This reallocation of emissions is based on a modelling process. For example, all the carbon dioxide produced by a power station is allocated to the power station when reporting on a source basis. However, when applying the end-user method, these emissions are reallocated to the users of this electricity, such as domestic homes or large industrial users.
BEIS does not estimate emissions outside the UK associated with UK consumption, however the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs publishes estimates of the UK’s carbon footprint annually.
For the purposes of reporting, greenhouse gas emissions are allocated into a small number of broad, high level sectors known as National Communication sectors, which are as follows: energy supply, business, transport, public, residential, agriculture, industrial processes, land use land use change and forestry (LULUCF), and waste management.
These high-level sectors are made up of a number of more detailed sectors, which follow the definitions set out by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and which are used in international reporting tables which are submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) every year.
This is a National Statistics publication and complies with the Code of Practice for Statistics.
Please check our frequently asked questions or email GreenhouseGas.Statistics@beis.gov.uk if you have any questions or comments about the information on this page.
Updates to this page
Last updated 30 June 2022 + show all updates
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Added Annex 2 and supplementary tables showing UK greenhouse gas emissions by Standard Industrial Classification (SIC).
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Updated 2020 UK greenhouse gas emissions: final figures - data tables, added 2 new files: Annex 1: 1990-2020 final emissions by end user and emission uncertainties, and 2020 UK greenhouse gas emissions: final figures – dataset of emissions by end user.
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First published.