So much for reducing our carbon emissions once we come out of recession

So it appears that the fall in the country's carbon emissions was purely down to the recession.

Figures released this morning by the Department of Climate and Energy change show that in 2010 emission rose by 3.1 per cent as compared to a steep fall of 8.7 per cent which coincided with the economic downturn following the previous year's financial crash.

Some solace though in the figures which are still 23 per cent lower than back in 1990 when most us were still blissfully unaware of the impact of climate change and Kyoto was a mere twinkle in our eyes,although when you include the emissions from imported goods that we consume,our carbon footprint has gone up by 20 per cent.

Overall in 2010 it is estimated that we used 590.4 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) with the largest increases being experienced in the residential sector, up 15.1 per cent(11.8 MtCO2e), and the energy supply sector, up by 2.8 per cent (5.6 MtCO2e) whilst other sectors remained more or less the same.

According to the department,the overall increase in emissions has primarily resulted from a rise in residential gas use, combined with fuel switching away from nuclear power to coal and gas for electricity generation.