Food Packaging — Emissions in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Food Packaging — Emissions was 1,770 kt in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
1,770 kt
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
24th
of 120 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 of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 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

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland recorded 1,770 kt for food packaging — emissions in 2023.

That represents a change of down 40.8% over ten years.

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

That places United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 24th out of 120 countries with data for 2023, putting it 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 of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, year by year

Annual values for Food Packaging — Emissions (CO2) in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 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%

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 of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

  1. 21 Spain 1,926 kt compare
  2. 22 France 1,907 kt compare
  3. 23 Mexico 1,840 kt compare
  4. 25 Chile 1,407 kt compare
  5. 26 Uzbekistan 913.55 kt compare
  6. 27 Qatar 894.03 kt compare

See the full ranking of 168 places →

More climate change data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

All data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland →

Frequently asked questions

What is food packaging — emissions in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
Food packaging — emissions in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 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 of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
The highest recorded value was 4,940 kt in 1990.
What is the lowest food packaging — emissions recorded in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
The lowest recorded value was 1,717 kt in 2020.
How does United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland rank for food packaging — emissions?
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ranks 24th out of 120 countries with data for 2023.
Is food packaging — emissions rising or falling in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
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 of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 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 of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 12 September 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/food-packaging-emissions-co2/united-kingdom-of-great-britain-and-northern-ireland/

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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
168 places, 5,039 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed

The FAOSTAT domain on Emissions from Pre- and post- agricultural production includes the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and related activity data, generated from pre- and post-agriculture production stages of the agri-food 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). The domain includes methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), carbon dioxide (CO2) and CO2 equivalent (CO2eq) emissions from the above activities as well as the aggregate fluorinated gases (F-gases) emissions. Estimates are available by country, with global coverage and are updated annually.The FAOSTAT domain disseminates information estimates of CH4, N2O, CO2 emissions, F-gases, their aggregates in CO2eq in units of kilotonnes (kt, or 10^6 kg), and the underlying activity data. CO2eq emissions are computed by using the IPCC Fifth Assessment report global warming potentials, AR5 (IPCC, 2014). Data are available for most countries and territories, for standard FAOSTAT regional aggregations, and for Annex I and non-Annex I country groups.