Recession plays its part in cutting emissions of carbon

The UK's carbon emissions are set to fall again slightly in 2010 after the recession drove dramatic declines of around 10 per cent last year, say analysts.

But the country is likely to miss its targets for cutting emissions and boosting renewable energy by the end of the decade unless the new coalition Government urgently puts ambitious low-carbon policies in place.

The report from Cambridge Econometrics predicts that despite modest economic recovery this year, emissions are likely to fall by around 1.5 per cent in 2010 due to the knock-on effects of the recession and less use of coal for energy generation.

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Based on policies already in place, the analysts forecast that the UK is likely to meet its first two five-year "carbon budgets" over the coming decade, but will exceed the third, which runs from 2018 to 2022, and miss its legally-binding target to cut emissions by 34 per cent by 2020. The report says renewables will only account for seven per cent of electricity supply this year, short of the 10 per cent target.