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Fuels: Carbon Emissions

Volume 461: debated on Friday 15 June 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information his Department holds on the relative carbon emission profiles of (a) kerosene, (b) wood, (c) coal, (d) electricity, (e) natural gas and (f) liquefied petroleum gas when used as domestic fuels. (142512)

The following table shows CO2 emissions per unit of energy consumed, and total emissions, from fuels in the domestic sector.

The second column refers to emissions per unit energy consumed, in kilograms of carbon dioxide per gigajoule (GJ), and the third column contains total UK emissions from the use of the corresponding fuel in the domestic sector, in million tonnes of carbon dioxide. The data include emissions associated with the fuel production, for example at power stations, refineries, and in the transportation of wood fuel.

The data in the table refer to the geographical coverage of the United Kingdom.

CO2 emissions from the domestic sector in 2005

Fuel

Emissions per unit of energy consumed (kgCO2/GJ) including emissions associated with production

Total emissions including emissions associated with production (MtCO2)

Burning oil1

75.40

8.16

Wood2

6.94

0.06

Coal

82.59

0.76

Anthracite

89.18

0.953

Electricity

146.27

61.30

Natural gas

52.26

71.84

LPG

66.72

0.98

1 The UK GHG inventory reports the use of domestic kerosene under burning oil, following the classification used by the DTI.

2 Wood figures include the effect of absorption of CO2 during the lifetime of the tree.