Although the European Union’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions continued to fall in 2019, further efforts to accelerate this trend will be needed to meet the EU’s climate targets for 2030 and 2050, says a report published on Monday (30 November) by the European Environment Agency (EEA).
According to this document, based on 2019 data as well as preliminary estimates, the Union’s GHG emissions in 2019 decreased by 3.7% compared to 2018, an annual decrease “unprecedented in the last decade”.
Compared to the 1990 emission level, emissions fell by 24%, surpassing the EU’s target of a 20% reduction by 2020.
For the EEA, these encouraging results show “that it is clearly possible to achieve more ambitious reduction targets by 2030 ”.
Nevertheless, “further effort will be necessary” to achieve the current emission reduction targets by 2030, “and even more if their ambition level is increased” as proposed by the European Commission (see EUROPE 12561/5), the Agency also stresses.
In addition, differences between countries remain. Preliminary EEA estimates predict that 12 countries (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta and Poland) will have emission levels above their annual targets in 2020.
Energy Targets
In addition to the emissions target, the 2020 renewable energy target should also be met.
According to the report, the total share of energy consumed in the EU from renewable sources was 19.4% in 2019. “The EU is therefore on track to the 2020 target of a minimum 20 % share”, the Agency concludes, which does not yet have the figures for the year 2020.
On the other hand, data for 2019 confirm that the Union risks missing its energy efficiency target (see EUROPE 12582/18).
Although preliminary estimates from the EEA indicate a 1.2% decrease in primary energy consumption in 2019 compared to 2018 levels, the consumption levels “still remain above the indicative linear trajectory to the 2020 target” (improving energy efficiency by 20%), the report says.
According to the document, only nine Member States (Finland, Greece, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Spain) were on track to meet their respective energy efficiency targets for 2020.
Impact of Covid-19
The Covid-19 pandemic could, however, upset EEA forecasts, making it easier to meet the 2020 targets.
“While not yet quantified, there are strong indications that the economic downturn in 2020 has sharply reduced overall energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in 2020, in particular in the transport sector”, the report notes. But adding that: “The impact of Covid-19 related potential reductions might be short-lived and emissions might rebound as economic activities return to pre-Covid levels”.
See the report: https://bit.ly/39ps37q (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)