Cold weather raised UK greenhouse gas emissions last year
01 Apr 2011
Greenhouse gas emissions in Britain were up last year because of people heating their homes to ward off the cold in the prolonged winter.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change said, levels of carbon dioxide, which accounts for about 84 per cent of UK emissions, rose 3.8 per cent. On the whole, emissions of the six main greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide were up 2.8 per cent on 2009.
The rise comes following large falls in greenhouse gases in 2009 with recession hitting industry and energy use.
On the domestic front carbon dioxide emissions, that mainly come from heating and cooking with gas, jumped by 13.4 per cent in 2010. The rise also resulted from a shift away from nuclear to coal and gas for electricity generation.
According to the latest official figures from the Department of Energy and Climate Chang, six major greenhouse gases last year rose 2.8 per cent to 582 million tonnes.
The increase has come to be blamed to the economic recovery as businesses, factories and households were able to pay for additional power.
