The United Kingdom has achieved a dramatic reduction in electricity-generated carbon emissions over the past ten years or from 2014 to 2024. This comes from its expansion of renewable energy capabilities. Fossil fuels also represent the smallest portion of the electricity generation mix in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
How the United Kingdom Has More Than Halved Carbon Emissions From Electricity From 2014 to 2014
2014 Accomplishments
An analysis published by the climate-focused publication Carbon Brief underscored that electricity generation in the U.K. was the cleanest ever in 2024. It added that the country increased the production of electricity from renewable sources by 122 percent from 2014 to 2024. This translated to a lower carbon footprint in electricity generation. The amount of dioxide emissions per kilowatt-hour specifically dropped by 70 percent or from 419 grams to 124 grams.
It is still worth noting that power plants running on natural gas still represent the largest component of the electricity generation mix at 28 percent. Renewable alternatives are catching up. Wind power accounted for 26 percent of generated electricity. This share is expected to increase in 2025 due to the expansion of wind-based power generation in the coming months. Wind power will add another 9 gigawatts to the mix. Another 25 gigawatts will come from solar power.
The additional input from wind power and solar power will more than offset the reduction from the retirement of power plants running on coal. The U.K. has been phasing out its coal power plants. The last coal-powered plant at Ratcliffe-on-Soar in Nottingham was retired in September 2024. This marked the end of coal power in the country after 142 years of dependence. Note that coal is considered the dirtiest fossil fuel because it produces the most greenhouse gases.
A Decade of Hard Work
The government of the United Kingdom aims to have renewable sources account for 95 percent of the electricity generation mix by 2030. This is an ambitious target. However, considering how much has changed from 2014 to 2024, in addition to continuous investments in alternative energy sources, most believe this is doable. There are also policies and programs in place to phase out fossil fuels and incentivize cleaner alternatives like nuclear and renewables.
For example, to incentivize investment in technologies like offshore wind, solar, and tidal power, the contractual mechanism called Contracts for Difference was introduced in 2014. It provides long-term guaranteed prices for renewable energy generators. Licensed electricity suppliers are also required by the government to source a certain percentage of their electricity from renewable sources under the market support mechanism called Renewable Obligation.
A total of 58 percent of electricity comes from cleaner sources. These include nuclear power and renewable sources. Nevertheless, while this is still far from the 95 percent target, cleaner electricity generation has produced net benefits. Carbon Brief noted that electric vehicles now have lifecycle carbon dioxide savings of 70 percent over internal combustion engine vehicles. A household with heating pumps has decreased its carbon emissions by 84 percent per year.
FURTHER READINGS AND REFERENCES