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Publication - Statistics

Scotland's Carbon Footprint 1998-2020

Published
21 May 2024
Directorate
Chief Economist Directorate, +1 more … Energy and Climate Change Directorate
Topic
Environment and climate change

Estimates of Scotland's greenhouse gas emissions on a consumption basis for the period 1998 to 2020.

View supporting documents Supporting documents

All results in this section are designated as experimental statistics. These are defined as new official statistics undergoing development and testing. The methods, data sources and results in this section are open for ongoing consultation with users, and we welcome feedback on all aspects of the statistics. All users should be aware that the results in this section are provisional and will be revised and updated when further developments are made. They should therefore be used with appropriate caution at this time. We welcome any thoughts or views on this analysis, including intended uses and alternative presentations by users. Please contact andrew.mortimer@gov.scot

Figure 14: Non-metallic minerals (for example construction materials) are the single largest input required to meet final demand in Scotland.

Scotland’s material footprint by type, 2020. Values in thousand tonnes.

Bar chart of ordered categories, form highest to lowest. The categories in order are non-metallic minerals, biomass, fossil fuels and metal ores.

Non-metallic minerals (for example construction materials) are the single largest input required to meet final demand in Scotland. In 2020, around 40.2 million tonnes of these materials were used globally to meet Scottish demand. Biomass (for example, food, wood) had the second largest demand, with around 17.5 million tonnes of these materials were required to meet Scottish final demand. Fossil fuels ( 11.7 million tonnes) and Metal ores ( 4.5 million tonnes) made up the balance of the 73.9 million tonnes of total materials required globally to meet Scottish final demand.

Figure 15: UK was the largest source of materials required to meet final demand in Scotland and required around 17 million tonnes of all materials

Scotland’s material footprint by country of origin, 2020. Values in thousand tonnes.

Bar chart of ordered categories, from highest to lowest. The highest is for the UK, followed by the "Rest of World" category. The lowest are Russia and the USA.

Figure 15 above shows the embedded material requirements by country of origin in 2020 associated with final consumption in Scotland.

UK was the largest source of materials required to meet final demand in Scotland and required around 17 million tonnes of all materials

In 2020, around 47.1 per cent of all materials consumed in Scotland were sourced from the UK, China and the European Union combined.

The Rest of the world (excluding countries not elsewhere specified) required around 14.9 million tonnes of all materials.

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