Feature: Energy – in a world trying to do better, where in the world are we?

The hazardous emissions of CO₂ and other harmful greenhouse gases (GHG), and the subsequent risks of climate change now need little introduction. The world is already starting to live with the impacts of a changing climate on communities, businesses and supply chains.

In the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report from October 2018, the organisation delivered the unnerving news that we had less than a 12-year window to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. It made plain that limiting warming to 2°C will not be enough to prevent the most serious impacts. And, in 2020, we now only have 10 years to go to address this crucial challenge.

There has been much discussion in the news around the various commitments that countries have signed up to in order to combat emissions, but where does the UK lie in the rankings as an emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG) and what are we doing to halt and even reverse the damage we are doing to our environment?

 

It can be incredibly complex to rank countries on their pollution levels and efforts to reduce emissions, as population size, level of industrialisation, economic growth targets and alternative energy implementation must all be taken into consideration.

Nevertheless, when it comes to how the UK is performing, there are some general observations that can be made, some of which might be surprising.

The International Energy Agency (IEA), has ranked countries emitting the most CO₂ from fossil fuel combustion, and the UK comes in at number 16, well below the largest polluters like China, the US, India and Russia – and interestingly, Germany. However, the UK was still rated as a greater CO₂ emitter than comparable economies like Italy and France.

And the picture gets a bit bleaker when comparing emissions in relation to population size, with the UK rising up the ranks to 13^th position – significantly underperforming India, Indonesia, Turkey and Mexico. So, while we still fare better than many, it seems we have some way to go.

The positive side of the picture is that the UK has recently taken legislative steps to combat this trend, with the UK government enshrining into law a commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050 – and making the UK the first major industrial economy to do so. While this is a crucial step to address the climate emergency, we now need to put ambition into action.

Although the calls for carbon neutrality might appear ambitious, they also present significant opportunities for businesses. Many stakeholders now want to see that companies are properly accounting for climate change. Customers are increasingly showing a preference for low carbon fuels and more environmentally friendly brands, while employees want to work for more responsible companies. So, businesses must become better prepared for future in order to address emissions now and seize the opportunity to keep shareholders happy and secure more business.

Flogas Britain understands that emissions reduction is a big commitment. But as an experienced and trusted supplier of the cleanest off grid conventional fossil fuels – liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) – Flogas can help support businesses on their emissions reduction journey.

As well as being reliable, powerful and abundant fuel sources, LPG and LNG release significantly less CO₂ and other pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur oxides (SOx) and particulate matter (PM) into the atmosphere, so can help businesses to meet their environmental legislation targets. And with Flogas Britain having the greatest and most geographically diversified depot network in the UK, businesses can be assured of continuity of supply. Flogas has also recently become a leading supplier of liquefied natural gas (Bio-LNG) which is scientifically proven to be more environmentally friendly than any alternative off-grid fossil fuel.