Dodging and diving

Hilary Benn claims UK on track to meet Kyoto emissions targets. The statement is nowhere near as mendacious and pernicious as the claims of Andrew Tyrie, but seems hard to credit given an NAO finding that Government figures hide scale of CO2 emissions (to which Mr Benn responded with what he said was The truth about CO2), not to speak of evidence that Government is 'missing its own carbon targets'.

A key point was well caught by Dieter Helm and collleagues in their report Too Good To Be True?:

On the UNFCCC basis, UK greenhouse gas emissions have fallen by 15% since 1990. In contrast, on a consumption basis, the illustrative outcome is a rise in emissions of 19% over the same period.

[On UK nuclear policy these four have it right.]

P.S. 28 March: evidence that the reduction in headline UK emissions in 2007 was down to fluctuation in the coal price, not government policy in Cut in coal burning brings UK emissions down by 2%.