British greenhouse gas emissions down 7 percent in 2011
(Reuters) - Britain's greenhouse gas emissions fell 7 percent in 2011, putting one of the European Union's biggest emitters further ahead of its internationally binding target under the Kyoto Protocol, provisional government data showed on Thursday.
While the country is ahead of the Kyoto timetable, the figures do not mean Britain has much scope to ease up its drive towards a low carbon economy as it also has ambitious, legally-binding domestic targets.
In 2011, the UK emitted 549.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, a 7 percent drop from 2010 levels and down 28 percent from emissions in 1990, according to data from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).
DECC attributed the year-on-year decline in 2011 mainly to a decrease in residential gas use, combined with a reduction in electricity demand and greater use of renewable energy, such as wind and solar, and nuclear power generation.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/03/29/uk-emissions-idUKBRE82S0N320120329
