Lower coal use cuts UK emissions to levels last seen in Victorian times

London

THE UK's carbon dioxide emissions fell to levels not seen since the reign of Queen Victoria, thanks to a shift away from coal-fired power generation to gas, wind and solar.

The dirtiest fossil fuel provided just 5 per cent of the country's electricity last year, a record low that keeps the UK on track to quit coal for power by 2025, with more than half coming from nuclear and renewables. Lower pollution from utilities and transport was partly offset by increases from homes and the public sector and come against a backdrop of global gains.

Britain has slashed emissions by 44 per cent since 1990 to the lowest levels since the 1890s after six years of reductions, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy data show. Homes now produce as much greenhouse gas as power stations, BEIS said.

Transport remains the single biggest source of pollution outside of energy in a country that has committed to phasing out traditional combustion engines by 2040. While transport emissions dropped by 3 per cent in 2018, the entire sector has only cut that amount in almost three decades. BLOOMBERG