UK greenhouse gases down by 0.5%, figures show

Greenhouse gas emissions fell by 0.5% in the UK last year, new figures showed today. Figures released by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) show a slight fall in total emissions in 2006, lower than earlier estimates which predicted a rise of 1.2% on 2005 levels. "It was provisionally estimated that total UK greenhouse gas emissions in 2006 would be 658.1m tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, which represented an increase of 0.5% from the 2005 figure," a Defra statement reads. "The final 2006 figure of 652.3m tonnes is around 1% lower than the provisional estimate, and actually represents a decrease from 2005 to 2006 of around 0.5%. The figures also showed that carbon dioxide (CO2) levels, which make up about 85% of the UK's total greenhouse gas emissions, stayed virtually the same, with a 0.1% fall. "The final 2006 figure of 554.5m tonnes is also around 1% lower than the provisional estimate, and represents very little change from 2005 to 2006," Defra said.