UK consumption emissions drop - despite rise in footprint of imports

The UK’s carbon footprint from consumption fell 21 per cent between 2007 and 2017, according to new government figures released on Thursday. The figures take into account the emissions from imported goods as well as aviation and shipping, unlike the more commonly used territorial emissions, which have shown a drop of 33 per cent in the same time period, mostly as a result of the country’s move away from coal. Consumption emissions for 2017 were 773mt of carbon dioxide equivalent, compared to 460.2mt in territorial emissions. The statistics highlight the UK’s reliance on imported goods, particularly from China. Emissions from goods imported from China were 260 per cent higher in 2017 compared to the 1997 level, when the data was first collected.