London’s consumption based greenhouse gas emissions

Tackling London’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is a huge challenge. The impact of these emissions goes far beyond the city’s boundaries. From the electronics we buy and the food we eat to the clothes we wear, most are produced and transported globally.

The Mayor, together with London Councils and ReLondon, has jointly commissioned Leeds University to develop a historic trend of consumption-based emissions for London. It uses the latest available data (running from 2001-2021) on average expenditure on different types of goods and services. This methodology aligns with equivalent national government datasets at the UK level.

**Findings**

London’s consumption-based emissions in 2021 were around 80 MtCO 2 e. They’ve fallen by 24 per cent since 2001, despite the city’s population increasing by 1.4 million over that time. This means emissions per head have reduced by 35 per cent (from 13.9 to 8.98 tCO 2 e per person).

 The biggest drop in consumption-based emissions was between 2008 and 2009 during the global financial crisis, when households’ average spending decreased. Post 2009, emissions stabilised then steadily reduced from 2014 to 2020, bar a small increase from 2017-2018. This period of emissions reduction has been mainly driven by decarbonisation of the UK electricity sector.

**The national context**

London’s per capita consumption-based footprint is slightly lower than the UK average. It also follows a similar trend in reduction over the same period. However, at a sector level there are some cases where the per capita emissions for Londoners are different, for example:

* **Transport** – London’s use of transport is unlike any other region in the UK. Private transport emissions are much lower than any other region, and public transport emissions are the highest in the country. As a result, London has the lowest per capita transport emissions of any region and is lower than the UK average. However, London also has one of the highest per capita aviation emissions. Transport emissions were still unusually low in 2021 due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
* **Housing, water, electricity, gas, other fuels** – Compared to other regions in the UK, Londoners spend less on heating and power. This is a function of increased household occupancy rather than lower energy bills and more efficient homes.
* **Food and drink** – Compared to other regions in the UK, Londoners spend less on meat, which contributes to a lower food footprint per capita.

**The international context**

The Mayor wants to recognise the full environmental impact of London’s consumption by publishing this data. We hope this will encourage more cities to publish their consumption-based emissions data so we can identify similarities and work together to bring these emissions down.

应对伦敦的温室气体（GHG）排放是一项巨大的挑战。这些排放的影响远远超出了城市的边界。从我们所购买的电子产品、所食用的食物，到我们所穿戴的衣物，大多数都是全球生产和运输的。

市长与伦敦市政当局及ReLondon共同委托利兹大学对伦敦的基于消费的排放历史趋势进行开发。该研究采用了2001-2021年间可获得的最新数据，这些数据涵盖了不同类型商品和服务的平均支出。该方法与英国国家层面的等效政府数据集相一致。

**研究发现**

2021年伦敦的基于消费的排放量约为80 MtCO2e。自2001年以来，尽管城市人口增加了140万，但这些排放量下降了24%。这意味着人均排放量下降了35%（从13.9 tCO2e/人降至8.98 tCO2e/人）。

基于消费的排放量最大降幅出现在2008年至2009年间的全球金融危机期间，当时家庭平均支出减少。2009年之后，排放量趋于稳定，并在2014年至2020年间稳步下降，尽管2017-2018年间有所上升。这一时期的排放量下降主要得益于英国电力部门的脱碳。

**国家背景**

伦敦的人均基于消费的足迹略低于英国平均水平。它也遵循了同一时期相似的下降趋势。然而，在部门层面，伦敦人的人均排放量在某些情况下与英国其他地区不同，例如：

* **交通** – 伦敦的交通使用方式与英国任何其他地区都不同。私人交通排放量远低于其他地区，而公共交通排放量则是全国最高的。因此，伦敦的人均交通排放量是所有地区中最低的，并且低于英国平均水平。然而，伦敦的人均航空排放量也位居全国前列。由于COVID-19大流行持续的影响，2021年的交通排放量仍然异常低。
* **住房、水、电、气、其他燃料** – 与英国其他地区相比，伦敦人在供暖和电力上的支出较少。这是由于家庭居住率提高，而不是能源账单较低或房屋能效更高。
* **食品和饮料** – 与英国其他地区相比，伦敦人在肉类上的支出较少，这导致了人均食品足迹的降低。

**国际背景**

市长希望通过发布这些数据来承认伦敦消费的全面环境影响。我们希望这能鼓励更多城市发布其基于消费的排放数据，以便我们可以识别相似之处并共同努力降低这些排放。