Tuesday

19th Mar 2024

EU emissions down 24% on 1990 - but still off 2030 target

  • Covid-19 is expected to lead to an 'unprecedented' emissions drop in 2020

EU greenhouse gas emissions fell by nearly four percent in 2019, compared with the previous year, while the bloc's GDP continued to grow, according to latest official data released on Monday (30 November).

Last year's emissions were down by 24 percent on 1990 levels, reaching their lowest level in three decades.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

"The European Union is proving it is possible to reduce emissions and grow your economy," the EU commissioner for the Green Deal, Frans Timmermans, said on Monday.

"However, we need to step up our efforts across all sectors of the economy to reach our common goal of climate neutrality by 2050," he added.

Emissions regulated under the EU's carbon market fell strongly, by 9.1 percent compared to 2018.

This is explained mainly by the decarbonisation of the power sector, where emissions fell by almost 15 percent, primarily with coal-fired electricity production being replaced by renewables and gas.

The Emissions Trading System (ETS), which regulates around 45 percent of the EU's output of greenhouse gases, allows companies to receive or buy emission allowances, which they can also trade.

The ETS's aviation emissions, which currently only cover flights within the European Economic Area, increased again in 2019, by three percent compared to the previous year.

Meanwhile, non-ETS emissions (such as those from transport, buildings, agriculture and waste) remained unchanged from 2018 to 2019.

But it is estimated that 12 countries exceeded their allocation of annual emissions - including Belgium, Germany, Austria and Poland.

'Drop in the ocean'

Additionally, the European Environment Agency warned on Monday that "remaining on track to meet the 2030 and 2050 objectives will demand sustained and long-term efforts".

Last year, member states prepared their 10-year National Energy and Climate Plans, designed to reach the 2030 climate and energy targets.

However, the EU Commission estimates that their implementation will set the EU on track to hit only a 41-percent reduction of emissions by 2030 (compared to 1990 levels) - falling short of the new, updated, target of at least 55-percent emissions cut currently on the table.

EU leaders are expected to endorse this new EU-wide target at next week's summit (10 and 11 December).

Once that new target is adopted, the EU will be able to submit a new climate pledge under the Paris climate agreement before the end-of-year deadline.

"It is good that emissions are inching downwards, but these figures are a drop in the ocean compared to what the climate crisis requires. The EU needs to kick its climate policy up several gears urgently, starting with its 2030 target," said Alex Mason from WWF Europe, who call for at least a 65-percent emissions cut.

The UN has repeatedly warned that the world is falling behind Paris climate goals of keeping global temperature increase well below 2 degrees or at 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.

Covid drop

Meanwhile, the Covid-19 pandemic is expected to lead to an "unprecedented" emissions drop in 2020.

As experienced with previous crises, the commission warns that "a swift economic recovery may lead to a strong and rapid rebound in emissions unless policy gears stimulus measures toward the green transition".

Following the first outbreaks in spring, EU leaders decided to make the green transition the cornerstone of the €1.8 trillion recovery package and the long-term EU budget - agreeing to spend one-third of the total budget on climate-related projects.

However, according to Patrick ten Brink from the European Environmental Bureau, "it is time to for governments and institutions to put their money where their mouth is and shift investments from expensive fossil fuels infrastructure to renewables and energy efficiency".

"This is the only way we can guarantee that emissions will continue to decrease as needed," he added.

Watchdog slams Commission on BlackRock 'green rules' deal

The European Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly, concluded the European Commission did not adequately assess potential conflict of interests when it granted a contract to the US giant BlackRock, a global investment manager, to work on environmental rules for banks.

Von der Leyen promises Green Deal will be 'true recovery'

The European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen wants to cut at least 55 percent of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 - saying the Green Deal is a "cultural project" that goes beyond simply cutting emissions.

Von der Leyen warns CAP reform does not hit Green Deal

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen voiced concerns about the bloc's ongoing reform of farming policy, saying some of the aspects of the European Council and Parliament's negotiating position are not aligned with the flagship Green Deal.

Opinion

Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers

The UN could launch an independent international investigation into Navalny's killing, akin to investigation I conducted on Jamal Khashoggi's assassination, or on Navalny's Novichok poisoning, in my role as special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, writes the secretary-general of Amnesty International.

Latest News

  1. Borrell: 'Israel provoking famine', urges more aid access
  2. Europol: Israel-Gaza galvanising Jihadist recruitment in Europe
  3. EU to agree Israeli-settler blacklist, Borrell says
  4. EU ministers keen to use Russian profits for Ukraine ammo
  5. Call to change EIB defence spending rules hits scepticism
  6. Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers
  7. EU summit, Gaza, Ukraine, reforms in focus this WEEK
  8. The present and future dystopia of political micro-targeting ads

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us