Scotland's carbon footprint: 1998-2016

Estimates of Scotland's greenhouse gas emissions on a consumption basis.


Key points

Chart 1. Scotland's Carbon Footprint, 1998-2016. Values in MtCO2e

Chart 1. Scotland's Carbon Footprint, 1998-2016. Values in MtCO2e

  • Between 2015 and 2016, Scotland's carbon footprint (emissions from all greenhouse gases) decreased by 6.9 per cent to a record low of 73.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e). This is the largest year on year decrease since the recession in 2008.
  • Between 1998 and 2016, Scotland's carbon footprint fell by 12.3 per cent, from 84.1 MtCO2e in 1998 to 73.8 MtCO2e in 2016.
  • Scotland's carbon footprint rose steadily from 1999 to a peak of 100.9 MtCO2e in 2007 before falling sharply in the following years (coinciding with the recession) and has generally fallen gradually in more recent years. The overall reduction between this 2007 peak, and 2016 is 26.9 per cent

Contact

Email: andrew.mortimer@gov.scot

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