The UK's CO2 Emissions Have Fallen 38% Since 1990, Faster Than Any Other Major Developed Country (carbonbrief.org)

The UK's CO2 emissions peaked in the year 1973 and have declined by around 38% since 1990, faster than any other major developed country. From a report: The most significant factors include a cleaner electricity mix based on gas and renewables instead of coal, as well as falling demand for energy across homes, businesses and industry. Declines in the UK's CO2 have persisted despite an economic recovery from the financial crisis a decade ago. Where earlier reductions were largely negated by rising imports, the past decade has seen genuine cuts in the amount of CO2 for which the UK is responsible. The factors driving emission reductions will likely continue into the future as the UK's remaining coal use is phased out by 2025.

Comments

Re:Forget global warming

[110010001000]

Exactly. Local pollution is a much more immediate threat. But you can't sell carbon tax credits on local pollution so it isn't really a problem. Unless you can make money off of the solution there won't be one.

Re:Forget global warming

[skullandbones99]

Vehicle emissions are tested against the specification of the vehicle from the time of manufacture such as the EURO 6 standard. Dieselgate started with the EURO 5 standard. Therefore, older vehicles are tested against the older specifications because older vehicles will most likely fail the newest standards.

For example, if a car was not manufactured with seat belts such as an old Jaguar of the 1960s then that vehicle will not fail the current seat belt test because the car is exempt from that test. Same applies for emissions such as not having a catalytic converter at the time of manufacture, such a vehicle would be exempt from the relevant emissions test.

In other words, some tests are not applied retrospectively. This is why some governments have scrappage schemes to get rid of vehicles of earlier specifications.

You can see a trend in cities such as London mandating EURO 6 to enter the city without paying an emissions charge. My 2009 Diesel Golf would have to pay this daily emissions charge plus the standard congestion charge. One way to avoid both charges is to use a battery EV.

Re:Forget global warming

[Sique]

Actually, all German made diesels tested for Euronorm 4 proved to have faked their emission during tests, e.g. switched to a "low emission" mode specially crafted to the test cycle (but with lower power output and lower torque). No single allegedly Euronorm 4 compliant Diesel comes close to the emission limits set by the standard during normal operation, thus Euronorm 4 was shelved, and the certifications are basically worthless.

So the problem is not new standards, it's cheating on the old standards. Thank the industry trying to game the system!

Re:DEINDUSTRIALIZATION

[AmiMoJo]

In this case it means being economically liberal, as in low regulation, which she definitely was. In fact that legacy of low regulation, high risk/reward financial services was the origin of the 2008 financial crash.