Since 1990, power sector emissions have fallen. However this has been primarily due to changes in the mix of fuels used in the 1990s, and a contraction in demand during the recession in 2008-9, rather than to the construction of the low-carbon capacity that is required moving forward.

• In 2009, emissions fell by 13% due to both a demand reduction during the recession and a fall in carbon intensity, due to low gas prices and a return of nuclear plants from outages experienced in 2008 .
• From 2000 to 2008 emissions increased by 9%, as demand continued to rise but the rate of substitution of gas-fired capacity for coal-fired capacity slowed.
• Emissions fell by 28% from 1990 to 1999. Key drivers of emissions were: investment in around 9.5 GW of new gas-fired capacity in the early 1990s which substituted for coal-fired generation (the “dash for gas”); and demand growth averaging around 1.5% annually, partially offsetting the emissions impact of increased gas-fired generation.
• Progress in deploying low-carbon capacity has been limited. Since 1990, the combined share of nuclear and renewables generation in use has fallen. The share of such generation must now increase dramatically up to 2030.