Acid Rain Falls UK emissions halve in 11 years

Emissions of chemicals that can cause acid rain fell by nearly 50 per cent in the UK between 1990 and 2001 to 3.4 million tonnes of sulphur dioxide equivalent.

The largest fall was in the electricity, gas and water sector, which decreased by 70 per cent to 1.0 million tonnes in 2001.

The large fall in emissions over the 11 year period reflects the decline in the use of coal for power generation in favour of natural gas. In 1990 the major power producers used coal equivalent to 48.9 million tonnes of oil (mtoes) compared to 0.01 mtoes of gas.

By 1999 the major power producers used 24.5 mtoes of coal and 24.2 mtoes of natural gas. In 2001 the trend was reversed slightly as coal use increased to 30.6 mtoes and gas use fell to 23.8 mtoes. Natural gas has a lower sulphur content than coal and therefore releases lower levels of sulphur dioxide when burnt.

The only sector to show a rise in emissions between 1990 and 2001 was the transportation and communication sector which rose 0.1 million tonnes over the period to 0.7 million tonnes in 2001.

This reflects a substantial rise in air transportation by UK airlines. The distance flown by UK airlines doubled between 1990 and 2001, to 1048 million kilometres. This has meant a greater demand for aviation fuel, which in turn has lead to a rise in emissions.

Emissions from the manufacturing sector fell by 47 per cent between 1990 and 2001 to 0.5 million tonnes. Domestic sector emissions fell by 43 per cent to 0.4 million tonnes in 2001. Emissions in the agricultural sector fell by 19 per cent to 0.5 million tonnes in 2001.

: Acid rain contains sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and ammonia.