14/10/2004

South east tops UK chart for household greenhouse gas emissions

Residents in the south east of England were the greatest generator of household greenhouse gases in 2001, according to new statistics.

The article in Economic Trends, published today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), found that households in the region were responsible for 94.6 million tonnes or 15% of the household total of 612.4 million tonnes.

The next highest region was London where households were responsible for 77.2 million tonnes or 13% of the overall figure. Together, households in London and the South East were responsible for 171.8 million tonnes of greenhouse gases – 28% of the total.

The region with the lowest volume of greenhouse gas emissions was Northern Ireland where households were responsible for 19 million tonnes or just 3% of household emissions.

On average each UK household was responsible for 24.6 tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2001. Regionally, households in Northern Ireland were responsible for the most greenhouse gases - 30.3 tonnes per household. At 21.5 tonnes, the region with the fewest emissions per household in 2001 was Yorkshire and the Humber. As well as Northern Ireland, regions that exceeded the UK average were London, the East of England and the South East.

Direct emissions arise from heating, cooking and the use of privately owned vehicles while indirect emissions arise from electricity generation, the use of public transport and the demand for household goods and services. In 2001, indirect emissions were larger than direct emissions for all regions of the UK.

(gmcg/mb)

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