Coal Plant Closures Drive U.K. Air Pollution to Record Lows
- Sulphur dioxide emissions fell 29% between 2015 and 2016
- Latest statistics don’t show full picture, campaigners say
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Britain’s transition to a low-carbon economy has driven levels of toxic air pollutants to record lows in 2016, largely because coal-fired power stations have either closed down or been converted to biomass plants.
Sulphur dioxide emissions fell by 29 percent in 2016 compared with the previous year, compounding a 97 percent drop since 1970. Nitrogen oxide levels declined 10 percent over the same time period, according to the latest statistics from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.