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Gareth Redmond-King, Head of Climate and Energy at WWF commented on provisional estimates that the UK’s carbon emissions fell by 5.8% in 2016

“It’s good news that the UK’s carbon emissions continue to fall. This is great for the climate and shows that it’s possible to cut emissions while building a productive economy. Most of this fall has come thanks to a big reduction in the use of coal to generate electricity, which demonstrates how crucial it is that the UK Government sticks to its pledge to phase out coal. However, further investment in green technologies is needed to reduce our emissions further.

“Indeed emissions are falling far slower in the rest of the economy, in particular buildings and transport, and it is therefore vital that the Government stops delaying and publishes a strong emissions reduction to show how all sectors will play their part and secure the benefits of moving to a low carbon economy.”

Notes to editors

The UK Government expenditure on environmental protection as a percentage of GDP has declined from 1% in 2010 to 0.8% in 2014:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/environmentalaccounts/datasets/ukenvironmentalaccountsenvironmentalprotectionexpendit