{"id":307179,"date":"2024-03-11T12:35:36","date_gmt":"2024-03-11T11:35:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=307179"},"modified":"2024-03-11T12:35:38","modified_gmt":"2024-03-11T11:35:38","slug":"the-elephant-in-the-room-that-risks-exposing-britains-net-zero-agenda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=307179","title":{"rendered":"The \u2018elephant in the room\u2019 that risks exposing Britain\u2019s net zero agenda"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UK\u2019s \u2018hidden\u2019 carbon emissions fail to show the bigger picture.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s one of the Government\u2019s proudest boasts. Britain, it claims, has almost halved its greenhouse gas emissions<\/a> from 800m tonnes in 1990 to just 417m tonnes in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a staggering decrease \u2013 a faster decline than almost any other advanced nation. And it is a fact that is used regularly by politicians to trumpet the UK\u2019s progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re far ahead of every other country in the world,\u201d Rishi Sunak said in September. \u201cWe\u2019ve had the fastest reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the G7. Down almost 50pc since 1990. France? 22pc. The US? No change at all. China? Up by over 300pc.\u201d The Telegraph<\/a> has the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But can a nation whose population has grown by several million in the past two decades, with each citizen consuming more than ever, really have cut emissions by such a massive amount?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part of the answer to that question lies in the databases of Leeds University where the UK\u2019s official \u201cconsumption emissions\u201d figures \u2013 the statistical elephant in the room \u2013 are compiled by a team led by Professor John Barrett.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When politicians say that emissions have fallen to 400m tonnes, they are referring to the greenhouse gases emitted within Britain\u2019s borders, from power stations, cars, homes, offices and what\u2019s left of industry. These are known as territorial \u2013 or production \u2013 emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What they exclude is everything else, meaning all foreign-produced cars, clothes, food and every other import as well as the shipping that imports those goods into the UK, and most of the aviation fuel burned for passenger flights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These overseas emissions used to be relatively small, but as the UK\u2019s own industries have shrunk, they have become an ever-increasing proportion of the overall carbon footprint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1990, overseas emissions totalled less than 200m tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. Since then the UK\u2019s increasing reliance on imports means overseas emissions totalled 350m to 400m tonnes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year the UK exported goods worth \u00a3393bn according to government data. However, Britain imported goods worth \u00a3581bn, resulting in an excess of \u00a3189bn. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWithin a couple of years, greenhouse gas emissions associated with UK consumption will result in more emissions outside the UK than inside the UK,\u201d says Leeds University\u2019s Barrett. \u201cEmissions embodied in imports will be more than the total territorial emissions in the UK.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In real terms it means that, in addition to the 400m or so tonnes of CO2 pouring from Britain\u2019s homes, vehicles and remaining smokestacks, there are another 350m to 400m tonnes being produced on the UK\u2019s behalf but in other countries. If you add those two figures together and make an adjustment for the UK\u2019s exports, you get Britain\u2019s overall carbon footprint \u2013 its consumption emissions \u2013 which now total around 750m to 800m tonnes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is a marked fall from 1990 when the UK\u2019s consumption emissions totalled 1bn tonnes but nowhere near the 50pc cut claimed by Mr Sunak last year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have provided the Government with the UK\u2019s consumption-based emissions data for many years,\u201d says Barrett. \u201cHowever, it is rarely or never quoted when statements are made about emission reduction. I believe it should be. Both approaches are needed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Energy consumption figures give an answer as to why the UK\u2019s own CO2 emissions have sunk so rapidly. In 2022, the country used less energy from all sources including coal, gas and renewables than in any year since 1970.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the full story here<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s one of the Government\u2019s proudest boasts. Britain, it claims, has almost\u00a0halved its greenhouse gas emissions\u00a0from 800m tonnes in 1990 to just 417m tonnes in 2022.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":307183,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"It\u2019s one of the Government\u2019s proudest boasts. Britain, it claims, has almost\u00a0halved its greenhouse gas emissions\u00a0from 800m tonnes in 1990 to just 417m tonnes in 2022.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691819522,691818076,691818154,691819094,691823415,691827538],"class_list":{"0":"post-307179","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-carbon-footprint","9":"tag-co2","10":"tag-net-zero","11":"tag-renewable-green-energy","12":"tag-u-k-prime-minister-rishi-sunak","13":"tag-uk-emissions","15":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/0Elephant_in_the_Room-0318665.jpg?fit=1856%2C1200&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1hUv","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":387191,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=387191","url_meta":{"origin":307179,"position":0},"title":"Eco Loons Attack Slough For Booming\u00a0Economy","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"06\/07\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"In any sane world Slough and the Government would be celebrating the influx of these data centres, which bring well paid jobs and boost the local economy.","rel":"","context":"In \"carbon dioxide (CO\u2082)\"","block_context":{"text":"carbon dioxide (CO\u2082)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=carbon-dioxide-co%e2%82%82"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0AQNELigv_4ARQjLqExty6bpjsq_jsCxTuCnR8aYEHEXuilfBZ__VHvU75Y3PcEndlUYfm6rdLSFp_iYHFPFh1PighlvzWb-b_0biKpEgztnQaTi6gAcg6uGXu9CftHb5FsLfIdSTh_sBb71FBytAt3rdhmd_lg-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0AQNELigv_4ARQjLqExty6bpjsq_jsCxTuCnR8aYEHEXuilfBZ__VHvU75Y3PcEndlUYfm6rdLSFp_iYHFPFh1PighlvzWb-b_0biKpEgztnQaTi6gAcg6uGXu9CftHb5FsLfIdSTh_sBb71FBytAt3rdhmd_lg-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0AQNELigv_4ARQjLqExty6bpjsq_jsCxTuCnR8aYEHEXuilfBZ__VHvU75Y3PcEndlUYfm6rdLSFp_iYHFPFh1PighlvzWb-b_0biKpEgztnQaTi6gAcg6uGXu9CftHb5FsLfIdSTh_sBb71FBytAt3rdhmd_lg-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0AQNELigv_4ARQjLqExty6bpjsq_jsCxTuCnR8aYEHEXuilfBZ__VHvU75Y3PcEndlUYfm6rdLSFp_iYHFPFh1PighlvzWb-b_0biKpEgztnQaTi6gAcg6uGXu9CftHb5FsLfIdSTh_sBb71FBytAt3rdhmd_lg-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0AQNELigv_4ARQjLqExty6bpjsq_jsCxTuCnR8aYEHEXuilfBZ__VHvU75Y3PcEndlUYfm6rdLSFp_iYHFPFh1PighlvzWb-b_0biKpEgztnQaTi6gAcg6uGXu9CftHb5FsLfIdSTh_sBb71FBytAt3rdhmd_lg-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":352937,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=352937","url_meta":{"origin":307179,"position":1},"title":"How the Rush to Net Zero is Accelerating Britain\u2019s Industrial Decline","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"02\/12\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s Toytown basic economics that the price of any commodity or service is determined by the relationship between supply and demand. 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