LONDON, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Britain's carbon emissions have continued its downward trend in 2017, falling to levels as low as emissions were back in 1890, according to the analytical results released Wednesday by Carbon Brief.
Carbon Brief, a UK-based website covering the latest developments in climate science, climate policy and energy policy, analyzed the country's emissions using the latest figures from Britain's Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
UK's CO2 emissions from fossil fuels fell by 2.6 percent in 2017, driven by a 19 percent decline in coal use, according to the Carbon Brief.
Coal now accounts for only 5.3 percent of total primary energy consumed in the UK, down from 22 percent in 1995. The British government has pledged to close all coal-fired power stations by 2025.
Reductions in coal use has driven most of the carbon reductions in recent years, though reductions in gas use were a larger driver earlier in the decade, said Carbon Brief.
Meanwhile, oil and petroleum use accounted for approximately 49 percent of total UK CO2 emissions from fossil fuels in 2017, up from 37 percent in 2010, according to Carbon Brief estimates based on the preliminary BEIS numbers.
The BEIS will publish its own CO2 estimates in late March.
