Consumer expenditure accounted for 26.5 per cent of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions on a residence basis in 2025, making it the largest single contributor for the tenth consecutive year, according to provisional Office for National Statistics estimates.
That 26.5 per cent share translates to 125 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent — up from 124 million tonnes in 2024, a year-on-year rise of 1.0 per cent. The figures show the share has crept up steadily: it stood at 25.4 per cent in 2023 and 26.0 per cent in 2024.
The transport sector was the second-largest contributor at 16.4 per cent of the 2025 total, well behind consumer expenditure. And within that consumer expenditure figure, travel-related emissions drove the increase — rising 2.6 per cent compared with the previous year, with road transport making up almost all of that category.
It’s worth being clear about what these figures actually measure. The ONS uses a residence-based approach, which attributes emissions to UK residents’ consumption — including emissions generated overseas through imported goods and services — rather than only those produced within UK territory. That makes it a different picture from the more familiar territorial statistics, which allocate emissions to domestic sectors like buildings, industry and electricity supply.
Consumer expenditure has held the top spot on this measure every year since 2015. The accounts are compiled for the ONS by Ricardo Energy and Environment, drawing on the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory as the principal underlying data source.
The 2025 figures are provisional. Final estimates may be revised.
Source: @ONS
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