1. Renewable energy in the UK
A look at renewable energy consumption in the UK,
one of the targets for the Sustainable
Development Goals

2. Renewable energy sources are...
Forms of energy that won’t run out if we use them

3. While overall energy consumption has gone down
since 1990, the proportion of energy from renewable
sources has risen substantially
Source: UK environmental accounts: 2017
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
'15'14'13'12'11'10'09'08'07'06'05'04'03'02'01'00'99'98'97'96'95'94'93'92'91'90
Renewable energy directive target is 15% by 2020
Renewable sources and waste
% from
renewables
year

4. Most of the renewable energy we consume comes
from wood, wind/wave/tidal, and burning rubbish
Source: UK environmental accounts: 2017
Landfill gas 9%
Municipal solid waste
(rubbish) 12% Wood 35%
Wind, wave, tidal 20%
Other 24%
(Solar photovoltaic, Biogas, Biodiesel,
Hydroelectric power, Biomass, Bioethanol,
Straw, Sewage gas, Poultry litter, Charcoal,
Liquid bio-fuels, Geothermal aquifers)
2015

5. But not all renewables are
emission-free...
Producing energy from wood creates harmful
pollutants like particulate matter
(PM2.5 and PM10)

6. PM10 is a tenth of the width of a human hair.
PM2.5 is even smaller! So small, it can enter into
the lungs and bloodstream
These particles are carcinogenic and can
cause premature death

7. In 2015 nearly a third of PM2.5 emissions in the UK
were from burning wood
Source: Particulate Matter Emissions 2015
PM10
25%
from wood
75%
from other
sources
PM2.5
32%
from wood
68%
from other
sources

8. Moving forward...
There is a strong drive to tackle the growing
problem of emissions in the UK
What is the UK doing?

9. 1. Reducing local air pollution
There have been calls for a ban on wood-burning
stoves, to help lower pollution levels and tackle air
quality in London
This is a small contributor to the UK as a whole,
but significant for local air pollution

10. 2. Creating a Clean Air Strategy
This will be published in 2018
It will set out plans to meet international
commitments in reducing emissions of air
pollutants by 2020 and 2030

11. 3. Growing sustainably
The Clean Growth Strategy sets out a plan for
growing the UK economy while cutting
greenhouse gas emissions

12. About Sustainable Development Goals
The UK committed to the Sustainable Development
Goals in 2016, along with 192 other
UN member states
These countries all committed to work towards
ending hunger and poverty, halting climate change
and reducing inequalities

13. What is the UK doing to meet
these goals?
The UK’s first publication around Sustainable
Development Goals was released
in November 2017
We’re publishing a series of outputs that look at
some of the major goals, and how the UK is
performing in meeting them

14. Keep in touch
Have a look at our Sustainable Development Goal reporting tool:
https://sustainabledevelopment-uk.github.io
For more information, visit our website
www.ons.gov.uk
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