Skip to main content

Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Transport

Volume 493: debated on Thursday 11 June 2009

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of UK (a) carbon dioxide and (b) other greenhouse gas emissions arising from (i) road travel, (ii) rail travel, (iii) domestic energy use, (iv) agriculture, (v) shipping and (vi) hovercraft in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. (278447)

The 2007 estimates of UK greenhouse gas emissions were published on 3 February 2009. These statistics represent the most up-to-date information available, and can be accessed from the following link at:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/statistics/globatmos/index.htm

The proportion of UK greenhouse gas emissions from (i) road transport, (ii) railways, (iii) residential use, (iv) agriculture and (v) domestic shipping in each year since 1997 are shown in the following table. Please note that statistics for emissions from hovercrafts are included within the domestic shipping sector.

These percentages are based on emissions calculated on an ‘End User’ basis i.e. the emissions are reallocated from the production and distribution of energy to the users of that energy.

Percentage contribution of specified sectors towards total emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, 1997 to 2007 by end-user

Gas/sector

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

(a) Carbon dioxide

(i) Road transport

24.6

24.4

24.9

24.4

24.0

25.4

24.7

24.6

24.9

24.6

25.2

(ii) Railways

0.7

0.7

0.7

0.7

0.7

0.7

0.7

0.7

0.7

0.7

0.8

(iii) Agriculture

1.4

1.4

1.4

1.3

1.4

1.4

1.4

1.3

1.3

1.3

1.2

(iv) Residential

25.6

26.6

26.2

26.7

27.3

27.2

27.3

27.5

26.9

26.9

26.2

(v) Domestic shipping

0.8

0.7

0.7

0.7

0.5

0.5

0.8

0.7

0.9

1.1

1.0

(b) All greenhouse gases

(i) Road transport

19.6

19.6

20.6

20.4

20.4

21.5

21.2

21.2

21.5

21.3

21.8

(ii) Railways

0.6

0.6

0.6

0.6

0.7

0.7

0.6

0.6

0.7

0.7

0.7

(iii) Agriculture

8.8

8.7

9.0

8.6

8.2

8.5

8.3

8.3

8.2

8.1

7.9

(iv) Residential

21.2

22.2

22.5

23.1

24.0

23.9

24.1

24.4

24.0

24.0

23.4

(v) Domestic shipping

0.6

0.6

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.4

0.7

0.6

0.7

1.0

0.9

(c) Other greenhouse gases (non-CO2)

(i) Road transport

2.2

2.3

2.5

2.6

2.7

2.7

2.6

2.5

2.4

2.3

2.4

(ii) Railways

0.2

0.2

0.3

0.3

0.3

0.3

0.3

0.3

0.3

0.3

0.3

(iii) Agriculture

34.2

35.1

40.6

40.9

41.2

43.2

45.2

46.3

46.8

46.9

46.8

(iv) Residential

5.9

6.4

6.9

6.9

7.5

7.6

7.2

7.4

7.6

7.6

7.3

(v) Domestic shipping

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1