Emma Pinchbeck, WWF-UK’s head of climate and energy policy, said: “While this nine percent drop is positive, we must remember that more ambitious carbon emissions reductions are required across different sectors to meet our climate change commitments.
“Government must get serious about reducing demand in order to lower bills in the long term and ensure we meet our carbon budgets.”
Dr Doug Parr, chief scientists at Greenpeace UK, added: “These figures give us a taste of what could be achieved if our political leaders got serious about phasing out the dirtiest of all fossil fuels and gave proper backing to clean energy. This could be a key learning for ministers as they prepare to set out their carbon reduction plans ahead of a crucial climate summit later in the year.”