LONDON, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- The British government said it was optimistic about the potential to meet its long-term targets for reducing greenhouse gases.
The British Department of Energy and Climate Change published a 51-page report highlighting its progress in meeting emissions targets.
The government is mandated under the terms of a 2008 climate measure to reduce emissions by 2050 at least 80 percent of a benchmark level set in 1990.
The report, published Monday, said most of the measures are within reach, though carbon budgets during the next decade may require "additional policy effort."
The transportation sector accounts for the bulk of greenhouse emissions in the reporting scenario. The report said emissions from transportation decline 14.8 percent to 103 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2030. Emissions from the energy sector decline more than 70 percent and total emissions fall by nearly 50 percent by 2030, the report said.
The report said its expectations depend on a variety of factors, including gross domestic product, oil prices on the international market and economic growth. Only the residential sector was forecast to have a slight increase in emissions during the forecast period through 2030.
