Greeny News

The fall of 8.7% of carbon emissions, such as industrial activity fell during the recession was a blip, figures show

The dramatic drop in emissions of greenhouse gases in the UK, caused by the recession proved to be a temporary problem with the increase in national emissions by 3.1% in 2010. The new Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Ed Davey, attributed the increase, the first time in nearly a decade, increased domestic heating on a cold winter and ends in nuclear power plants due to technical problems .

"A year is not going to withdraw the United Kingdom was the fulfillment of their long-term goals for reducing emissions, but it serves to emphasize the importance of the political coalition for insulation houses to reduce energy bills and emissions and switch to alternative forms of green energy, "said Davey, a Liberal Democrat who has taken as Chris Huhne, who resigned Friday after being charged with an alleged attempt to avoid prosecution for an offense for speeding.

On Sunday, a letter to Prime Minister over 100 Conservative MPs was published, which called for the reduction of subsidies for renewable energy, despite the role of renewable energy in reducing emissions. But environmental groups, see the increase in emissions last year as a warning and said the surge in emissions from home heating showed that the government had to increase the ambition of their plans insulation of houses, known as "Green Deal". "It must have been the decade in which reduced our emissions and has triggered a wealth of green jobs, but we are seeing progress obstructed," said Louise Hutchins, Greenpeace. "The fact that the increase is partly due to the cold wave in 2010 is not an excuse, after all, Sweden has colder winters, but their bills are lower because they have a Better insulation at home. To copy successful flagship green government resources are needed, which requires greater political ambition. "

Keith Allott, head of climate change at WWF-UK, said: "If the government needed an alarm clock on emissions of greenhouse gases is here

"It is alarming to see the emissions units increased when people are struggling to pay their energy bills. Over-reliance on the UK is driving up greenhouse gas and people's power bills. This is a clear sign that the government should support investors in renewable energy and we do the hook on fossil fuels once and for all. "

Despite this increase, emissions in the UK are about 23% less than in 1990, the base year of the nation's international commitments to fight against global warming under Kyoto Protocol is, the current Kyoto commitment has been met comfortably. A mandatory national target of reducing emissions by 35% in 2020 compared to 1990 levels, is still likely to be met. However, since 1990, the production takes place in the UK has fallen dramatically and the goods imported from elsewhere, have filled the void. When the emissions associated with imported goods are included, the national carbon footprint in the UK rose by 20%, although critics argue that the exporting country that benefits from employment, the reason is responsible for these emissions .