Latest data on the UK’s carbon dioxide (CO2) footprint shows an increase of 10 per cent between 2009 and 2010. This follows the 19 per cent fall in 2009 and leaves the carbon dioxide footprint 9 per cent higher than it was in 1993.

Official Statistics Release (pdf)

Why is this important – We are all consumers – of food and drink, personal travel, household products and travel tourism. As such, we are accountable to some degree for the pressures which our consumption puts on the environment.

CO₂ emissions associated with UK consumption 1993 to 2010

• When investigating the impact that UK consumption has on carbon dioxide emissions, the worldwide production of goods consumed in the UK needs to be taken into account as well as goods produced in the UK. Since 1993 the structure of the UK economy has shifted towards the services sector. The consequence of this is that more of the goods UK households consume are now produced abroad.
• CO₂ emissions associated with imported goods and services consumed in the UK have risen by 59 per cent since 1993 and now account for over 40 per cent of all consumption emissions (316 mt CO₂, 44 per cent), compared to around 30 per cent of the carbon dioxide footprint in 1993 (199 million tonnes (mt) CO₂).

Data download

Official Statistics Release (pdf)

Data download for chart (csv)

Excel detailed yearly data (xls)

Next update: December 2013

Other useful links

Government policy on Green economy, green business
Centre for Sustainable Accounting
EU Environmental Policy
Office for National Statistics Environmental Accounts
DECC UK greenhouse gas inventory

Downloads

13 December 2012

• release-carbon-footprint-dec2012 (pdf, 327 KB)
• scptb01-carbon-footprint-1990-2010 (csv, 2 KB)
• Data-download-consumption-emissions-Dec2012 (xls, 3541 KB)