Greenhouse gas emissions fall in UK

(The Guardian): The UK’s greenhouse gas emissions dropped by 8.7% in 2009, the latest available official figures showed today. Carbon dioxide, the most common greenhouse gas, dropped by almost a 10th (9.8%) as the impacts of the recession hit electricity and fuel use across the economy. Greenhouse gas emissions fell across all areas, with an 11% reduction in the energy supply sector, an 11.8% fall among businesses, a 36.5% reduction in emissions from industrial processes, 4.2% from transport and 5.8% from homes. The falls were far higher than the previous year, when both CO2 and greenhouse gases as a whole dropped by around 2% but emissions from households rose by 3%.

The figures, released by the Department of Energy and Climate Change said the fall in emissions in 2009, the last year for which data are available, was due to a significant drop in energy consumption by businesses, industry and homes as the recession bit.

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