Derby's carbon emissions
The amount of greenhouse gas emissions generated by a person or organisation’s activities (the carbon footprint) is usually measured as tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), to account for other greenhouse gases such as methane.
The total emissions directly generated in Derby are approximately 1,242 kt CO2e (from UK Government data for 2022*, published in July 2024). These estimates include emissions produced within the UK's geographical borders only. They exclude international aviation and shipping, UK residents and UK registered businesses abroad, and UK imports.
| Source of CO2e emissions | Emissions (kt CO2e) | Percentage of overall CO2e emissions |
|---|---|---|
| Industry | 214 | 17 |
| Commercial | 121 | 10 |
| Public sector | 69 | 6 |
| Domestic | 298 | 24 |
| Transport | 455 | 37 |
| Land use or change | 3 | 0 |
| Agriculture | 7 | 1 |
| Waste management | 76 | 6 |
(Figures rounded to the nearest whole number)
Transport
The use of transport has a significant impact on carbon emissions with over almost one third (37%) of all Derby’s greenhouse gas emissions resulting from transport. These are the emissions caused by using petrol or diesel fuel in vehicles and equipment. It excludes electricity used in electric vehicles. It also excludes aviation and travel by train taking place outside the city boundary.
Homes (domestic)
Homes are both Derby and the UK’s second largest source of emissions (after surface transport). In Derby they generate 24% of all emissions (298 kt CO2e).
Industry
The third largest emitter is industry, generating 214 ktCO2e in 2021, which is 20.92% of the total UK footprint.
How does Derby compare to other local cities?
The UK average carbon emissions per person is 5.6 tonnes per year. While Derby is significantly below this, the city is lagging behind all of its neighbours, as shown in the table below. This information is from the UK Government’s data from 2022, published in July 2024.
| City | Carbon emissions per person (tCO2e) |
|---|---|
| Derby | 4.7 |
| Leicester | 3.6 |
| Sheffield | 3.9 |
| Nottingham | 4.1 |
| Birmingham | 3.7 |
| Manchester | 3.8 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | 4.4 |
| Wolverhampton | 3.6 |
| Coventry | 3.6 |
| Lincoln | 3.4 |
More information
Have a look at the Centre for Cities interactive infographic showing the carbon footprint for Derby.
Info4Derby also hosts a more detailed environmental report for Derby, including analysis of carbon emissions.
Carbon budget
Climate science defines a carbon budget as the amount of greenhouse gases that can be emitted for a given level of global warming. So, to keep global temperature rises below 2°C (as agreed in the Paris Agreement), we need to emit fewer greenhouse gasses than our budget.
In Derby, our carbon budget from 2020 to 2100 has been estimated at 7.1 million tonnes (MtCO2). This sounds like a huge amount but at current emission rates, Derby will have used this up entirely by 2027.
To prevent ‘overspending’ on our carbon budget, the Council, residents and organisations all need to reduce their carbon footprint.
View the full report from the Tyndall Centre.