UK greenhouse gas emission fall 2 percent

The UK’s greenhouse gas emissions fell by 2 percent from 2007 to 2008, according to the latest report from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).

Provisional estimates put last year’s emissions of six greenhouse gases at 623.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, compared to 636.6 million tonnes in 2007. Carbon dioxide accounted for 85 percent of the UK’s emissions in 2007, the last year for which final figures are available.

DECC attributed the emissions reductions to a shift from coal to natural gas for electricity generation, combined with lower fossil fuel consumption both for road transport and by industry.