British greenhouse gas emissions decline

Greenhouse gas emissions in the United Kingdom declined 2 percent last year because of a decrease in the use of fossil fuels, the government said Thursday. The British Department of Energy and Climate Change issued reports highlighting energy use and emission from 2013. DECC figures show emissions have been on a general decline since the 1990s. The government attributed last year's decline to a 9 percent decrease in coal use and a 7 percent decrease for natural gas. Coal provided 40.6 percent of the electricity generation, though overall production is declining. Natural gas and nuclear power accounted for around 20 percent of the share each, though wind energy generation was increasing with offshore wind accounting for the bulk of that sector, government data show. The United Kingdom has more offshore wind power capacity than anywhere else in the world. The British government is committed to European benchmarks to have renewable energy account for 20 percent of the power generation and cut emissions by 20 percent according to 1990 benchmarks by 2020.