UK sector carbon emissions falling, but progress still ‘patchy’

Carbon emissions released by higher education institutions in the UK have fallen to their lowest level for at least six years, figures suggest, but academics said much more can still be done.

Figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency show that the 133 providers which submitted data for 2021-22 released 1.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

The figures cover Scope 1 emissions, which are from sources that an organisation owns or controls directly, and Scope 2 emissions, which are those an organisation causes indirectly and come from where the energy it purchases and uses is produced.

Submissions have been optional for English and Northern Irish providers since 2019-20, but analysis of universities that have provided data consistently shows falling emissions across the sector.

The 119 institutions that have submitted statistics every year released 1.3 million tonnes of CO₂ last year – 3 per cent less than 2020-21, and 30 per cent less than 2015-16, when these figures were first collected.

Emissions have fallen each year, apart from 2020-21 when emissions rose by 2 per cent – which Dave Reay, professor of carbon management at the University of Edinburgh, said is attributable to the Covid-19 pandemic and university life returning to normal.

It is probably still having a considerable effect in terms of remote working and study, he added.

“The energy crisis is also likely to be having a significant effect, with spiralling costs since the invasion of Ukraine meaning much more focus on energy efficiency and savings by universities,” he added.

Professor Reay, who is also director of the Edinburgh Climate Change Institute, said the biggest factor in falling emissions was the decrease in emissions intensity of electricity supply, with the expansion of renewables in the UK grid meaning that big energy users see their electricity-derived emissions decrease as a result.

“This, combined with things like expanded on-site renewables and ongoing energy efficiency improvements by universities, likely covers most of the reductions seen to date.”

Of the providers to have released figures every year, two-thirds decreased emissions over the past year, and almost all (99 per cent) reduced emissions over the six-year period.

The University of Suffolk achieved a 64 per cent drop-off in CO2 emitted since 2015-16 – the largest of all.

This was followed by the University of the West of Scotland, and the University of London – both 61 per cent.

Overall, Professor Reay said progress by the sector was “patchy” and far too slow in the face of the global climate emergency.

“Further decarbonisation of the UK electricity grid will only go so far, and so grasping the nettle of institution-wide enhancements to the energy efficiency of buildings, equipment and usage is needed,” he said.

“This is not cheap, and in these straitened times the capital costs of things like building retrofit risk being put off, even though the savings over the longer term can far outweigh these costs.”

Charlotte Bonner, chief executive of the Alliance for Sustainability Leadership in Education, praised the sector’s efforts so far but said there was definitely more work to be done to make climate action more holistic.                                     

“We mustn’t forget that the biggest impacts universities can have is by equipping their students for their futures through their education provision and helping shape society for the better through their innovation and research,” she said.

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com