10 Jun 2009 09:06:08
UK on track to double Kyoto target
The UK is on course to almost double the reduction in its greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol, the Department of Energy and Climate Change has claimed.
Reporting to the UN, the government department said that UK emissions are expected to be 23 percent under 1990 levels by 2010, nearly twice as much as the 12.5 percent target established by the agreement.
The news came as officials were gathering in the German city of Bonn for the UN's Framework Convention on Climate Change, where negotiations will begin for an update to the Kyoto Protocol.
Climate change minister Joan Ruddock said: "Our latest report to the UN shows what can be achieved when government, communities and business work together to reduce emissions.
She added that the findings show there is a viable alternative to a "high-carbon society", adding: "There is still more to be done - we must continue to work urgently to reduce our emissions further and faster."
Ms Ruddock estimated that individuals account for more than 40 percent of the UK's emissions and urged people across the country to consider ways of reducing their own carbon footprints.
The Kyoto Protocol was initially signed in December 1997 and contains commitments for the reduction of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and sulphur hexafluoride.
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