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.

London’s wider greenhouse gas impacts

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. Understanding emissions related to these consumption patterns can help us better understand and plan to reduce London’s wider carbon footprint.

The Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has commissioned Leeds University to develop a historic trend of consumption-based emissions for London. It uses the latest available data (running from 2001-2018) on average expenditure on different types of goods and services. This methodology aligns with what the national government uses at the UK level.

Key Findings

London’s consumption-based emissions in 2018 were around 94 MtCO 2 e. They’ve fallen by 27 per cent since 2001, despite the city’s population increasing by around 1.4 million over that time. This means emissions per head have reduced by 39 per cent (from 17.1 to 10.5 tCO 2 e per person). The biggest drop was between 2008 and 2009 during the global financial crisis, which had a big impact on household expenditure.

London’s footprint

London Councils has also commissioned a report on consumption-based household emissions profiles for London boroughs for the period 2001-2018. The data showed that every London borough saw a reduction in emissions over this period, and the difference in emissions between the highest and lowest emitting boroughs had also declined. Further information can be found on the London Councils website.

The national context

London’s per capita consumption-based footprint is close to 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 – Londoners have higher than average emissions, spending more on international air travel, which significantly increases per capita emissions. However, 2018 emissions are at their lowest level.

· Housing, water, electricity, gas, other fuels – London has similar emissions to the UK and there has been a decreasing trend between 2013 and 2018. The majority of emissions in this sector are related to energy use.

· Food and drink – London has lower emissions than the UK average for food and drink consumed at home but is above average for consumption outside the home, including for hotels and restaurants.

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. An Arup/C40 report from 2019, The Future of Urban Consumption in a 1.5C world, explores consumption-based emissions in an international context and compares data on a continent by continent level.

London’s Food Footprint

London’s food consumption-based emissions are 15.5 MtCO 2 e each year and 78% of this is from imports. The GLA also works through ReLondon (previously London Waste and Recycling Board) to improve waste and resource management in the capital and accelerate our transition to a low-carbon, circular city. The 2021 report, London’s Food Footprint, explores material flows through the entire food and beverage supply chain within Greater London: from imports, to consumption, to how waste is managed.

The report highlights some of the actions the Mayor has already taken, including signing the C40 Good Food Cities Declaration and committing to reducing food waste by 50% per person by 2030. It also identifies interventions to reduce emissions, such as shifting to healthier and more sustainable diets, reducing food loss and waste, and making better use of waste.

The Climate Change Mitigation and Energy Annual Report 2009-2012 data provides levels of CO2 emissions reductions achieved through direct Mayoral programmes, including RE:NEW, RE:FIT, and the Decentralised Energy Programme. It is produced by the Greater London Authority and this forms the first set of data. It is intended that data is produced annually.

2009\London\KSS\Li-840

Site: KSS

Country UK
City London
Location King’s College London (K)/ Strand Campus (S)/ Strand Building (S)
Height: on Aluma Tower

DATA: Licor Li840 - CO2 and H20

Zipped files by month and sensor e.g. KSS_Li840-1_Hrly_2009_12.zip

• KSS - Site
• LI840-1 sensor
• Hrly- files
• 2009 -- year
• 12- month

Internal files e.g. LI-12009351_18_raw.txt

• LI-1 - licor 840
• 2009 - year
• 351 - day of year
• 18 - hour
• raw - raw data
• format: ascii
• details: see Licor 840 manual

Publications

• Bjorkegren A, CSB Grimmond 2018: Net Carbon Dioxide emissions from central London) Urban Climate 23, 131-158 10.1016/j.uclim.2016.10.002
• Bjorkegren A, CSB Grimmond, S Kotthaus, BD Malamud 2015: CO2 emission estimation in the urban environment: measurement of the CO2 storage term. Atmospheric Environment 122, 775-790, 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2015.10.012

2009\London\KSS\Tprofile

Site: KSS
Country UK
City London
Location King’s College London (K)/ Strand Campus (S)/ Strand Building (S)
Height: on Aluma Tower

Internal Files e.g. KSS_T09351.dat

• KSS -site
• T - Tprofile
• 09 - year - 2009
• 351 - day of year
• format: comma delimited

Sensors - fine wire thermocouples, unshielded

Zip File:KSS_TProfile_2009.zip

Publications

• Bjorkegren A, CSB Grimmond 2018: Net Carbon Dioxide emissions from central London) Urban Climate 23, 131-158 10.1016/j.uclim.2016.10.002
• Bjorkegren A, CSB Grimmond, S Kotthaus, BD Malamud 2015: CO2 emission estimation in the urban environment: measurement of the CO2 storage term. Atmospheric Environment 122, 775-790, 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2015.10.012
• Kotthaus S & CSB Grimmond 2012: Identification of Micro-scale Anthropogenic CO2, Heat and Moisture Sources - Processing Eddy Covariance Fluxes for a Dense Urban Environment Atmospheric Environment 57, 301-316.