UK greenhouse gas emissions fell 1.0 per cent to an estimated 473 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2025, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday.
The provisional figure compares with 478 million tonnes in 2024 and leaves emissions 42.4 per cent below 1990 levels, on a residence basis aligned with the national accounts.
Manufacturing made the biggest contribution to the fall. Its emissions dropped 9.7 per cent, from 64 million tonnes in 2024 to 58 million tonnes in 2025, the largest decrease of any industry.
Households moved the other way. Emissions from consumer expenditure, meaning fuels and other products used by individuals rather than produced by industry, rose 1.0 per cent to 125 million tonnes from 124 million tonnes.
That was led by a 2.6 per cent rise in consumer travel emissions, which the ONS describes as consisting almost entirely of road transport.
Consumer expenditure remained the largest single source, at 26.5 per cent of the 2025 total. The transport sector came next at 16.4 per cent.
Emissions intensity, which measures emissions against economic output, was unchanged at 0.14 thousand tonnes per £ million of gross value added.
The earlier provisional estimate for 2024, published on 24 October 2025, put emissions at 476 million tonnes, 43.3 per cent below 1990 levels. The 2024 baseline now stands at 478 million tonnes.
That earlier estimate showed a 0.5 per cent fall from 2023, so the 2025 decline is larger. Manufacturing then fell 7.4 per cent, from 70 million to 65 million tonnes.
Consumer expenditure then accounted for 26.0 per cent of the total and transport for 16.1 per cent, so both shares have edged up. Intensity was 0.15 in 2024 against 0.16 in 2023, and has now held at 0.14.
Household emissions rose in both years. The 1.7 per cent increase in 2024 was the first since 2021 and was driven by a 4.1 per cent rise in residential natural gas combustion, whereas the 2025 rise is led by travel.
Transport sector emissions rose 4.5 per cent in 2024, continuing a general rise since 2021.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s final 2024 statistics use a territorial basis and estimate net UK emissions at 373 million tonnes for that year.
That department’s publication treats territorial, residence and consumption-based emissions as separate measures. The 2025 ONS total therefore cannot be set directly against the territorial figure.
All 2025 data are provisional. The ONS estimates them by updating 2024 activity data, such as kilometres driven by cars, with 2025 production information or proxies where none is available, then applying 2025 emission factors.
The air accounts are compiled by Ricardo Energy and Environment on behalf of the ONS, and the statistics are accredited official statistics reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation.