The bar graph compares the amounts of carbon emitted by three types of fossil fuels in the UK from 1990 to 2010, with five-year intervals. Units are measured in millions of tons.
Overall, gas emissions increased significantly, while coal emissions almost mirrored the reverse direction, declining sharply over the period. It is also clear that the figure for oil emissions fell gradually. These changes indicate that by the end of the period there was a substantial gap between the leading source of emissions and the other two.
Turning to the figures for oil and coal, both represented downward trajectories. Coal emissions stood at its all-time high of just above 300 million tons in 1990, thereafter which it declined steadily to well below 200 million tons by 2010, making it the smallest contributor by the end of the period. Likewise, the figure for oil emissions fell from around 260 million tons to roughly 240 million tons in 1995. Before continuing to decline steadily to around 200 million tons in 2010, the figure then experienced a modest increase of approximately 10 million tons in 2000.
As for the level of gas emissions, it started at just above 200 million tons. Afterwards, this figure rose to just under 300 million tons in 2000. This was the year when gas emissions surpassed the other two fuels. During the next decade, gas emissions peaked at just above 350 million tons, representing a gap of around 150 million tons compared with the next largest contributor, oil.