1. UK Renewable Electricity Generation (GWh) (Type 1*, ESI*)
This indicator is extremely reliable as it measures the total renewable energy generated in the UK regularly and it takes all forms of renewable energy into account. This indicator allows the UK government to see how easy, quick, and cheap it is to produce renewable energy if you have the capacity to generate the electricity. It will allow the government to make key decisions on how to best expand the number of onshore and offshore wind farms there are in the UK and see that we do not need to rely on fossil fuels to produce enough energy for the whole nation.
In 2019, the UK emitted a fifth of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), mainly from the burning of gas to produce electricity. Over the last two decades, the data has already shown that the capacity of renewable energy is increasing annually and generating copious amounts of renewable energy, thus getting us on track to meet our goal of reducing emissions by 78% by 2035 compared to 1990 and hopefully further to 50% by 3030. The data shows the amount of renewable energy capacity has increased from 8609 MW in 2010 to 49,033 MW in 2021 and generation has increased from 6249 GWh in 2010 to 24,296 GWh in 2021. The Carbon Brief states that the UK’s CO2 emissions have already fallen by 38% since 1990 because of using more renewables and burning fewer fossil fuels.
The data that will be used to measure this indicator is the total amount of renewable energy generated in the UK in Gigawatt Hours (GWh) (tab 6.1 on the spreadsheet). This includes energy produced onshore, offshore, tidal, solar, hydro, wind energy, and energy from waste, plant, and animal biomass. The latest dataset for “quarterly renewable electricity and transport fuels” was published in December 2021 and will be updated quarterly (every 3 months). The next one will be published in March 2022. The data is easily accessible to the public on the government’s website.
The data source comes from the “Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy” (BEIS) from the UK’s government website. It is supplied by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which is responsible for the collection and publication of statistics related to the economy, population, and society of the UK. This is the link to the dataset. The link to the Excel document for the data on “Quarterly Renewable Electricity” is in the document “Energy Trends Renewables Tables (ODS)”.
2. UK Territorial Emissions of CO2 for Transport (mtCO2e) (Type 1, ESI)
This indicator is very reliable as it factors in all the emissions produced only within the UK’s borders and considers all types of transport. This data is extremely important to determine how far off the UK is in achieving its climate goals and what we should be doing more to reduce emissions caused by the transport sector. According to the Department of Transport, in 2019, transport accounted for 27% of the total GHG emissions in the UK. The data from the spreadsheet shows that over the last two decades, the GHG emissions produced by transport have fluctuated. However, over the last four years, the levels have been slowly decreasing, with it being 124.7 mtCO2e in 2017 and 97.7 mtCO2e in 2020.
Transport causes high levels of pollution in the air as it releases toxic gases that can be damaging to our health. The main ones are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide, and sulphur dioxide. Therefore, higher amounts of these gases in the atmosphere are likely to cause serious illnesses, so it is vital that the UK begins to ban the production and sales of petrol and diesel cars, introduce electric vehicles, encourage the use of more public transport, and get people to walk and cycle more often. This will result in a low pollution rate and emissions.
The data that will be used to measure the indicator is the UK’s total territorial CO2 emissions by transport in metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) (tab 1.3 on the spreadsheet). This includes emissions from aviation, roads, railways, and shipping. The data tables on the Excel spreadsheet were published and last updated in February 2022. This file will be updated on March 31st, 2022 and will next be published in February 2023. The data is easily accessible to the public on the government’s website.
The data source comes from the BEIS, the UK’s government website, and is supplied by the ONS. Here is the hyperlink to the dataset. The link to the Excel document for the data on “Estimated territorial greenhouse gas emissions by source category” is in the document “2020 UK Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Final Figures-Data Tables (Excel)”.
3. UK Territorial Emissions of CH4 for Agriculture (MtCO2e) (Type 1, ESI)
The Department of Energy and Climate Change states that the main sources of CH4 emissions are from waste management (mostly landfills), agriculture, and fugitive emissions from fuels. CH4 emissions have decreased by 57.6% from 1990 to 2010 and are currently at 41.4 MtCO2e (7% of the UK’s total GHGs). Projected emissions of CH4 are expected to decrease by 24% from 2010 levels by 2025.
This indicator is reliable as the data shows the total amount of CH4 released throughout the years from all agricultural processes, including cattle farming, which is the biggest source of CH4 emissions. CH4 is a more potent gas and has a higher global warming potential (GWP) than CO2, thus becoming the lead contributor to climate change. Agriculture releases much more CH4 into the air due to many agricultural processes, e.g., fermentation and waste from a variety of animals. The GWP of CH4 gets even higher over shorter periods of time due to the gas’s shorter life span. CH4 has a GWP of between 84 and 87 over a 20-year period. Therefore, it is more important to measure the release of it over time. Over the last two decades, the data from the BEIS has already shown that the level of CH4 is steadily decreasing from 29.0 MtCO2e in 1990 to 24.8 mtCO2e in 2020. We can reduce these levels further by implementing more sustainable practices in livestock farming, e.g., adding whole sunflower seeds into their diets, which has resulted in animals producing around 33% less methane.
The data that will be used to measure the indicator is the UK total territorial emissions by CH4 from agriculture (MtCO2e) (tab 1.4 on the spreadsheet). This includes emissions from animal enteric fermentation and waste (e.g., cattle, sheep, and pigs) and field burning of agricultural wastes. The data tables in the spreadsheet were published and last updated in February 2022. This file will be updated on March 31st, 2022 and will next be published in February 2023.
The data source comes from the BEIS, the UK’s government website, and is supplied by the ONS. Here is the link to the dataset. The link to the Excel document for the data on “Estimated territorial greenhouse gas emissions by source category” is in the document “2020 UK Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Final Figures-Data Tables (Excel)”.
4. UK Territorial GHG Emissions for LULUCF (mtCO2e) (Type 1, ESI)
This data is extremely comprehensive as it covers the territorial GHG emissions for all types of land use in the UK. According to the Department of Transport, in 2019, the total GHG emissions released by the agriculture, land use, land use change, and forestry (LULUCF) sectors was 11%. The data from the BEIS spreadsheet shows that over the last two decades, the level of GHG emissions by the LULUCF sector has fluctuated gradually throughout the years with no significant spikes or drops. For example, it increased from being 5.8 mtCO2e in 2018 to 6.0 mtCO2e in 2019 and then went down to 5.5 mtCO2e in 2020. High emissions from, for example, converting land to cropland and biomass burning forest land emit large amounts of GHG into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change. However, if we stop cutting down forests, they can remain to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere and act as a carbon sink, reducing the impacts of climate change.
The data that will be used to measure the indicator is the UK total territorial GHG emissions by LULUCF (MtCO2e) (tab 1.2 on the spreadsheet). This includes emissions from forest lands, croplands, grasslands, wetlands, and settlements, including biomass burning and direct and indirect nitrogen oxide emissions. The data tables in the spreadsheet were published and last updated in February 2022. This file will be updated on March 31st, 2022 and the next publication will be in February 2023.
The data source comes from the BEIS, the UK’s government website, and is supplied by the ONS. Here is the link to the dataset. The link to the Excel document for the data on “Estimated territorial greenhouse gas emissions by source category” is in the document “2020 UK Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Final Figures-Data Tables (Excel)”.
Table of the 2030 Performance Indicators for the United Kingdom
| Performance Indicator | Baseline Value | Date |
| UK Renewable electricity generation | 24, 269 GWh
|
2021 |
| UK CO2 emissions for Transport | 97.7 MtCO2e | 2020 |
| UK CH4 emissions for Agriculture
|
24.8 MtCO2e | 2020 |
| UK GHG emissions for LULUCF | 3.7 MtCO2e | 2020 |
*Type 1 data is always available since it is obtained due to permanent monitoring.
**The Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI) is a measure of overall progress towards environmental sustainability. The index provides a composite profile of national environmental stewardship based on a compilation of indicators derived from underlying datasets.
This Post was submitted by Climate Scorecard United Kingdom Country Manager Manpreet Aulakh