To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the annual level of carbon dioxide emissions resulting from electrical appliances being left in standby mode. (287896)

The most recent analysis of the energy consumption of equipment in households and commercial properties was undertaken by DEFRA's Market Transformation Programme (MTP) in 2006. This estimated that the level of carbon emissions resulting from all the appliances most commonly found in UK homes was at least 7.2 TWh equal to 2.1 per cent. of UK electricity consumption or 0.8 million tonnes of carbon. The MTP is in the process of updating this information for 2008.

The report, ‘Estimated UK Standby Electricity Consumption in 2006 (V2.0) (BNXS36)’, can be found on the MTP website.