Glasgow’s CO2 emissions have fallen by more than 13% since 2020 and dropped by 50% since 2006, new data has revealed.

The most recent figures on carbon emissions and energy consumption, released by Department for Business, Energy, & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), shows that Glasgow’s CO2 emissions in 2020 totalled 2,118,000 of carbon dioxide.

In the same year gas emissions dropped by 6%, and electricity emissions dropped 18%, from, from 2019.

Glasgow City Council said these "important achievements" come with strong caveats due to the implications of Covid-19 - that had a significant impact on the emissions profile of Glasgow in 2020.

Using projected figures, however, the council estimates that emissions reductions in the absence of Covid-19, following a similar course to previous years, may have produced a decrease of around 7.6%, from 2019.

Regardless of the pandemic, the council said it has met and exceeded its target to achieve a 30% reduction in carbon emissions by 2020 from the baseline year (2006), with emissions falling 50.3%. 

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Councillor Angus Millar, the city’s climate convenor, said: “While these emissions reductions both citywide and for the council are encouraging there is no room for complacency.

"The climate emergency remains a very real and imminent threat and we, the council and city partners, will have to work harder, and smarter, to continue the downward trajectory and minimise the ‘bounce back’ in carbon emissions following the pandemic.

 

“We are making progress towards Glasgow’s ambition to be a net zero carbon city by the end of this decade, but we know we need to do more.

"Our efforts to promote sustainable transport alternatives and increase natural carbon capture via tree planting, for example, will help change how Glasgow looks and feels as we move towards net zero.

“Similarly, our work to increase renewable energy generation, pursue innovative green infrastructure like district heating networks, and develop wide-scale approaches to retrofitting home energy will be critical.

“Now, as we look to secure a green recovery from the pandemic, is the time to pick up the pace.”

The council said the greatest reductions have been made in electricity consumption, which is largely due to LED lighting installations and retrofits in buildings, street lighting and stair lighting.