ZEMCH 2019 International Conference Proceedings April.2020 | Page 229
1. Introduction
In order to reduce carbon emission levels, a number of targets have been set at a national and
international level. The 1997 Kyoto Protocol, was a major international agreement which focused
around globally reducing GHG emissions. Furthermore, in terms of the UK specifically, there are a
number of existing targets such as an 80% reduction in emissions by 2050 from 1990 levels [1]. In order
to meet these targets an understanding of what dictates UK emissions levels is vital. However, myriad
factors can influence emission levels. Some of the key drivers include economic activity, industrial
activity and population growth which are further explored within the literature review. Furthermore,
in order to reduce emission levels, the entirety of the UK has to effectively perform, which relies on
positive action across a huge number of local authorities. Each local authority has varying
characteristics which impacts upon the success of emissions reductions. Moreover, different strategies
are employed throughout the UK to reduce emission levels. The exploration of which authorities have
been successful over time will develop an understanding of what has dictated emissions reductions.
The majority of UK local authority carbon emissions can be attributed to the domestic, transport
and industrial/commercial sectors [2]. The Department of Business, Energy and industrial strategy
(BEIS) states how domestic emissions in the UK are produced largely by natural gas and electricity
consumption. Natural gas contributed to 59% of total end user emissions while electricity emissions
amounted to 31% [2]. However domestic electricity emissions levels have reduced over time as the
usage of coal has decreased in electricity generation.
This study will explore changes in domestic sector emissions levels in UK local authorities and
what has affected their changes. This will involve an exploration of factors that have impacted local
authorities’ carbon emission reductions between 2005 and 2016.
2. Materials and Methods
The sources of data used for this study were primarily from government reports and data sets
which are outlined in the table below. One of the main sources of data used for analysis included the
“UK local authority and regional carbon dioxide emissions statistics; 2005‐2016.” The report was
provided by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and provides estimates
across the domestic, transport and industrial and commercial sectors from 2005‐2016 (BEIS, 2018a). The
data provided in the report is based upon four main sources: BEIS sub national electricity and gas
consumption statistics, emissions distribution maps and land use, land use change and forestry
regional data [2]. This report allowed for trend analyses to be completed across a disaggregated data
set which considers temporal and spatial elements.
Table 1. Sources of data used on the analysis of domestic GHG emissions
Data Set Source Data Used
UK local authority and [2] Carbon Emission levels across
regional carbon dioxide every local authority in UK
emissions statistics; 2005‐2016 from 2005‐2016
Government Emission
[3] Grid Emissions Factor
[4] Population Density
Conversion Factors for
greenhouse gas company
reporting
Population Census Data 2011
Reducing GHGs from UK Households - An Examination of Local Authority-Level Data
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