Scotland’s Carbon Footprint: 1998-2022

9 Jun 2026 01:29 PM

An Official Statistics Publication for Scotland

This publication provides estimates of Scotland’s greenhouse gas emissions on a consumption basis; that is emissions that are associated with the spending of Scottish residents on goods and services, wherever in the world these emissions arise, together with emissions directly generated by Scottish households.

Key points

• Between 2021 and 2022, Scotland’s carbon footprint (emissions from all greenhouse gases) increased by 1.6 per cent from 60.0 to 61.0 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) in 2022.
• Between 1998 and 2022, Scotland’s carbon footprint fell by 17.5 per cent from 73.9 MtCO2e in 1998 to 61.0 MtCO2e in 2022
• Scotland’s carbon footprint rose continuously between 2002 and 2007; peaking at 84.4 MtCO2e in 2007 before falling sharply after 2007 (coinciding with the recession).  Since the peak in 2007, the carbon footprint has demonstrated a trend reduction in emissions. The overall reduction between the 2007 peak and 2022 is 27.7 per cent.

Background

1.  The full statistical publication
2. The data cover the period up to 2022 and show increased emissions compared to 2020.  Emissions in 2020 were supressed by the effect of the national lockdowns and travel restrictions associated with COVID-19 pandemic.
3.  This statistical report meets the requirements under Section 37 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 and the updated requirements under Section 21 of the Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) Act 2019.  The data contained within this   report are also used to inform National Indicator 47: “Carbon Footprint”.
4. Published territorial emissions are available in the Official Statistics publication Section B. Results – Scottish Greenhouse Gas Statistics 2022 – gov.scot
5. Official statistics are produced by professionally independent statistical staff – more information on the standards of official statistics in Scotland