The UK has achieved it's greenest year in energy ever

In terms of how the nation’s electricity is generated, 2017 has been the greenest year ever for the UK, according to National Grid.

In June this year, for the first time ever, wind, nuclear and solar power generated more power in the UK than gas and coal combined. And in April the country enjoyed its first 24-hour period without using any coal since the Industrial Revolution.

Duncan Burt, director of National Grid said "It’s been an exciting year managing the many 'network firsts'."

Since 2012, Britain has cut carbon emissions from the electricity sector by half and by 2025 the government expects to have phased-out coal altogether. This means Britain's is the fourth cleanest power system in Europe and the seventh in the world.

Gareth Redmond-King, head of energy and climate at World Wildlife Fund said: "We have never been cleaner or greener- and we are on course for an even better year in 2018. This is a the success of supporting renewables in electricity.

"The Government has subsidised onshore wind, offshore wind, solar, hydro, the lot, and that has led to the cost of it falling, we have built more and now a third of our electricity comes from renewables."

But despite all its efforts, the UK has yet to tackle its reliance on gas if it wants to meet emissions targets. Dr Andrew Crossland, from MyGridGB and the Durham Energy Institute said that the government was focused on reducing coal that now accounted for 7% of the country's electricity.

"However, if we continue to use gas at the rate that we do, then Britain will miss carbon targets and be dangerously exposed to supply and price risks in the international gas markets."