I'M often accused of being a right Jeremiah, and of being too negative about what's happening to the planet and its climate.

It is suggested that I should be more hopeful particularly in the light of some recent figures and information, but I still think that my realism, based on a long awareness of the self interest and aggressive nature of human beings is probably more likely to be the outcome.

However, something interesting has happened. Despite 2014 being the warmest year recorded on the planet, and the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere the highest for over a million years, a few local, regional figures do hint at progress in slowing green house gas emissions. Helpful, but it's local rather than global.

There's evidence that some western industrialised countries, those that produced most emissions in the past, are now able to reduce emissions despite the fact that their economies are still growing. Previously this has only happened during economic depressions, as in 2010 when the UK emissions dropped only to pick up in the following three years, but the 2014 provisional figures buck the trend.

From 464 million tonnes of CO2 in 2013 it dropped to 429 million in 2014 and this takes some explaining as the economy was said to be getting stronger. It seems that we used even less coal last year than in 1850, and with more coal fired power stations closing the trend might continue. Ironbridge and Ferrybridge power stations were usefully closed by fires, and Drax used more biomass.

Also as 2104 was warm there was less demand for gas, down by 18 percent, and UK homes now use less than half the electricity of a generation ago, with energy efficient fridges and washers, and more LED lights. This is certainly helped by the 600,000 houses, some two percent of the total, with solar panels, and other renewables contributed. In addition over the last two years road use also fell by 14 percent because of high fuel costs.

However we mustn't get carried away and think we've cracked it. The UK produces less than two percent of global CO2, and we have picked the low hanging fruit first. It will be much harder in future to make similar savings, without strong legislation and government investment. Already the cheaper fuel prices are encouraging more road traffic, and we will increase gas use to generate electricity as the ageing nuclear power stations are rested, and new ones are more than a decade away.

We also conveniently forget to include the emissions from goods made for us overseas, and from international flying and shipping, so there's still a way to go to become carbon free.