By Susanna Twidale
LONDON, April 2 (Reuters) – Britain’s greenhouse gas emissions fell by 2% last year, provisional government data showed on Thursday, as emissions from industry fell.
Britain has a target to reach net zero emissions by 2050, which will require a huge increase in renewable electricity and a switch to cleaner electric vehicles.
Total greenhouse gas emissions were estimated at 367 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2025, down 7 million tons from 2024, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said.
The industrial sector saw the largest drop, with emissions down 12% due to blast furnace closures in the iron and steel sectors which led to lower gas use, DESNZ said.
Last year also saw the first year there was no coal-fired power generation in Britain in more than 140 years after the last plant closed in September 2024.
Electricity sector emissions were down 1%.
Emissions in the transport sector however rose 2% due to an increase in petrol and diesel use.
The data means Britain’s greenhouse gas emissions have fallen around 54% from 1990 levels.
As part of efforts to meet the net zero goal, Britain set an interim target to cut greenhouse gases by 81% by 2035.
(Reporting by Susanna Twidale; Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Jan Harvey)
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