Committee on Climate Change

The profile of Wales’s greenhouse gas emissions varies from that of the UK as a whole. Emissions have fallen in Wales since 1990 by 10% compared to 20% across the UK as a whole. Emissions in 2008 were 49.5 MtCO₂e, accounting for around 8% of total UK emissions, which is higher that Wales’ share of UK population (5%) and GDP (4%).

Breakdown of emissions by sector:

• Emissions from power supply of 15 MtCO₂e currently account for around 30% of Wales’s total GHG emissions (2008). Emissions overall were 30% higher in 2008 compared to 1990 and can fluctuate significantly depending on the operation of individual generating plants.
• Industry  emissions of 17 MtCO₂e account for a 35% of the total in Wales and have fallen by 29% overall between 1990 and 2008.
• Transport emissions of 9 MtCO2e account for 14% of Wales’ total and in line with trends seen across the UK, have risen since overall since 1990, by 6% in Wales
• Residential emissions of just under 5 MtCO₂e account for about 10% of the Welsh total and are at broadly the same level in 2008 as they were in 1990. However this is against a rise in the number of households in Wales of 15% over the same time period.
• In Agriculture emissions of 5 MtCO₂ eaccount for 11% of Welsh emissions and fell by 23% between 1990 and 2008.
• Emissions from non-residential buildings fell significantly from 1990 and 2008 (by 32% overall) but account for a very small share of Wales’s emissions overall (around 2% in 2008, or just under 1 MtCO₂e).

The latest disaggregated inventories for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are available from the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory.