Government makes headway on air quality drive

The UK government has today (December 18th) announced that it expects to hit its CO2 emissions reductions targets from its occupied buildings.

According to new figures published by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), the level of carbon dioxide output fell by 10 per cent during the last financial year compared with the 1999/2000 baseline.

Projections from the OGC show that the government is on track to exceed its target of a 12.5 per cent reduction in emissions by March 2011 by 5.3 per cent.

Rebecca Willis, vice chair of the Sustainable Development Commission, said: "It's great to see the progress that has been made in the last 12 months. We have seen improvements from road transport, water, waste and recycling targets."

The economic secretary to the treasury praised Whitehall departments for their efforts so far and commented that new targets will be announced for next year following a comprehensive review.

Great Britain has pledged to reduce its carbon emissions by 34 per cent over 1990 levels by 2020.

Posted by Claire Manning