Food Packaging — Emissions in United Kingdom

United Kingdom: Food Packaging — Emissions was 1,770 kt in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
1,770 kt
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
30th
of 145 countries
All-time high
4,940 kt
in 1990
All-time low
1,717 kt
in 2020
Years of data
34
1990–2023

Food Packaging — Emissions in United Kingdom, 1990–2023

2.0k3.0k4.0k5.0k1990200620231990: 4.9k kt1991: 4.9k kt1992: 4.7k kt1993: 4.2k kt1994: 4.2k kt1995: 4.2k kt1996: 4.0k kt1997: 4.0k kt1998: 3.2k kt1999: 3.2k kt2000: 3.3k kt2001: 3.4k kt2002: 3.3k kt2003: 3.3k kt2004: 3.2k kt2005: 3.6k kt2006: 3.9k kt2007: 4.0k kt2008: 4.0k kt2009: 3.3k kt2010: 3.4k kt2011: 3.2k kt2012: 3.2k kt2013: 3.0k kt2014: 2.8k kt2015: 2.6k kt2016: 2.2k kt2017: 2.1k kt2018: 2.0k kt2019: 1.9k kt2020: 1.7k kt2021: 1.8k kt2022: 1.8k kt2023: 1.8k kt

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in kt.

Analysis

The most recent figure for food packaging — emissions in United Kingdom is 1,770 kt, measured in 2023.

The figure is down 40.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, food packaging — emissions in United Kingdom peaked at 4,940 kt in 1990 and was at its lowest, 1,717 kt, in 2020.

United Kingdom ranks 30th of 145 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.

Food Packaging — Emissions in United Kingdom, year by year

Annual values for Food Packaging — Emissions (CO2) in United Kingdom, 1990 to 2023.
Year kt Change
1990 4,940 kt
1991 4,885 kt -1.1%
1992 4,748 kt -2.8%
1993 4,237 kt -10.8%
1994 4,228 kt -0.2%
1995 4,230 kt +0.1%
1996 4,034 kt -4.6%
1997 3,989 kt -1.1%
1998 3,216 kt -19.4%
1999 3,233 kt +0.5%
2000 3,261 kt +0.9%
2001 3,415 kt +4.7%
2002 3,253 kt -4.7%
2003 3,324 kt +2.2%
2004 3,241 kt -2.5%
2005 3,622 kt +11.7%
2006 3,909 kt +7.9%
2007 4,001 kt +2.4%
2008 3,982 kt -0.5%
2009 3,316 kt -16.7%
2010 3,382 kt +2.0%
2011 3,171 kt -6.2%
2012 3,206 kt +1.1%
2013 2,988 kt -6.8%
2014 2,815 kt -5.8%
2015 2,570 kt -8.7%
2016 2,246 kt -12.6%
2017 2,053 kt -8.6%
2018 1,987 kt -3.2%
2019 1,852 kt -6.8%
2020 1,717 kt -7.3%
2021 1,809 kt +5.3%
2022 1,770 kt -2.1%
2023 1,770 kt +0.0%

United Kingdom compared with similar countries

  • United Kingdom's 1,770 kt is above the median for high income countries, which is 189.38 kt, 9.3× the median. (53 countries reporting)
  • United Kingdom's 1,770 kt is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 242.35 kt, 7.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 4,174 kt 3,216 kt 4,940 kt 10
2000s 3,533 kt 3,241 kt 4,001 kt 10
2010s 2,627 kt 1,852 kt 3,382 kt 10
2020s 1,766 kt 1,717 kt 1,809 kt 4

Countries ranked near United Kingdom

  1. 27 Spain 1,926 kt compare
  2. 28 France 1,907 kt compare
  3. 29 Mexico 1,840 kt compare
  4. 30 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 1,770 kt compare
  5. 32 Chile 1,407 kt compare
  6. 33 Uzbekistan 913.55 kt compare

See the full ranking of 178 places →

More climate change data for United Kingdom

All data for United Kingdom →

Frequently asked questions

What is food packaging — emissions in United Kingdom?
Food packaging — emissions in United Kingdom was 1,770 kt in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest food packaging — emissions recorded in United Kingdom?
The highest recorded value was 4,940 kt in 1990.
What is the lowest food packaging — emissions recorded in United Kingdom?
The lowest recorded value was 1,717 kt in 2020.
How does United Kingdom rank for food packaging — emissions?
United Kingdom ranks 30th out of 145 countries with data for 2023.
Is food packaging — emissions rising or falling in United Kingdom?
Over the last ten years it is down 40.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this United Kingdom data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Food Packaging — Emissions (CO2). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Food Packaging — Emissions in United Kingdom. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 17 September 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/food-packaging-emissions-co2-fao-tier-1/united-kingdom/

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About this data

Indicator
Food Packaging — Emissions (CO2)
Unit
kt
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
178 places, 5,298 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed

The FAOSTAT domain on Emissions Totals summarizes the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions disseminated in the FAOSTAT Climate Change domains of emissions from agrifood systems. Data are computed following the Tier 1 methods of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines for National greenhouse gas (GHG) Inventories (IPCC, 1996; 1997; 2000; 2002; 2006; 2014). Emissions from other economic sectors as defined by the IPCC are also disseminated in the domain for completeness. Methodological details can be found at: https://files-faostat.fao.org/production/GT/GT_en.pdf