§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what was the change in the level of the United Kingdom's carbon dioxide emissions in(a) quantity and (b) percentage terms in each of the last 10 years. [41380]
§ Angela EagleCarbon dioxide emissions and changes in the level of emissions since 1990 are as follows:
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Year Emissions (million tonnes of carbon) Level change (million tonnes of carbon) Percentage change 1990 167.7 — — 1991 168.8 +1.1 +0.7 1992 164.3 -4.5 -2.7 1993 160.2 -4.1 -2.5 1994 159.1 -1.1 -0.7 1995 156.6 -2.6 -1.6 1996 161.8 +5.3 +3.4 The estimates in the Table are those reported to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on the basis of the guidelines recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Final data for 1997 are not yet available but provisional estimates show that emissions last year were about 155 million tonnes, a decrease of some 4% from 1996. Differences between years are affected by outside temperature and this is the main reason for the increase between 1995 and 1996 and the subsequent decrease to 1997. Changes in economic activity, types of fuel used, the structure of the economy, and energy efficiency also affect emissions from year to year. Estimates on the IPCC basis are not available for years before 1990. Comparable data are available for earlier years on the basis used for reporting emissions to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, and these show that in 1988, 1989 and 1990 emissions changed by 0.0, -2.6 and +2.1 million tonnes of carbon, or 0%, -1.6% and +1.3% respectively.
§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimate he has made of the likely increase in the United Kingdom's carbon dioxide emissions in(a) quantity and (b) percentage terms over the 10 years from the beginning of 1998. [41381]
§ Angela EagleUK projections of carbon dioxide emissions are under review, but the existing estimates based on Energy Paper 65 suggest that, without the introduction of further policies, emissions in 2008 would be about 9 million tonnes of carbon, or about 6%, higher than in 1998. The increase above the 1990 baseline would be about 0.2%. Actual emissions in any year will be affected by external factors including the fluctuation in outside temperature. We are currently looking at policies and measures to meet our legally binding commitment following the Kyoto agreement, and our domestic aim to reduce emissions by 20% below the 1990 level. We shall be consulting on this over the summer.