A growth in the use of renewable energy has helped Britain to cut its greenhouse gas emissions, according to new figures released by the Government.
But experts say the fall in 2013 – the most recent year for which figures are available – is not enough to cancel out the increase seen in the previous year.
The latest Department of Energy and Climate Change figures show that emissions in 2013 fell by 2.4%.
Alexander Creed, head of resources and energy at Strutt & Parker, said: “Renewable electricity will be a key part of reducing UK CO2 emissions.
"Property owners and occupiers have a significant opportunity to play their part in reducing emissions by installing small and medium scale renewables such as solar PV panels, heat pumps or biomass boilers which not only reduce emissions but make great business sense as well.”
The drop was driven by a 6.8% decrease in emissions from the UK’s energy supply sector, something that was fuelled by the continuing rise of renewable energy and falling use of coal and gas in power stations.
The official figures show 568 million tonnes of greenhouse gases were emitted in the UK in 2013 compared to 582 million tonnes the year before.
CO2 emissions, meanwhile, totalled 468 million tonnes in 2013, 1.8% less than the 476 million tonnes released into the atmosphere during the previous 12-month period.
But although the reduction is welcome it is not enough to offset the increase seen in 2012, says Professor Paul Pearson from the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences at Cardiff University.
And he warns that the 2013 figure is still 2% above the average required to meet greenhouse gas emissions targets for the 2013-2017 period.
He says although the UK’s interim target for 2008-2012 had been “just about” achieved, the main reason had been the recession.
Professor Pearson says the political parties battling it out for power at this year’s General Election need to set out how they propose to hit the now tougher targets in the midst of an economy that is on the upturn.
He says steep falls will be needed if the UK is to achieve the target it has adopted for cutting emissions by 80% by the middle of the century.
Ed Davey, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, says the new figures show that Government policies aimed at reducing the UK’s reliance on fossil fuels and growing the use of renewable energy are working.
