Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from installations covered by the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) have fallen from 1,682 megatonnes of CO2 equivalent (Mt-CO2e) in 2018 to 1,530 Mt-CO2e in 2019, a reduction of 9.1%, according to an analysis by the European Environment Agency (EEA) published on Monday 14 December.
This decline, the largest in ten years, is due in particular to a sharp reduction in the use of coal for power generation. With the rise in the price of CO2 making the use of coal more expensive, development of renewable energies and a switch from coal to natural gas in many countries has been observed, particularly in Germany, Poland, and Spain, the EEA points out.
According to the analysis, between 2018 and 2019 alone, emissions from combustion installations - which are responsible for 60% of the GHG emissions covered by the ETS - thus decreased by 12.9%.
Emissions from these installations nevertheless increased in five Member States: Austria, Malta, and Luxembourg, as well as Belgium and Croatia, the only two EU countries where the amount of electricity produced from coal increased.
Aviation emissions covered by the ETS also continued to grow (+1%), amounting to 68.2 Mt-CO2e in 2019, as a result of increased demand for air transport.
Based on Member States’ projections, emissions covered by the ETS are projected to decrease by 33-40% by 2030 compared to 2005, the EEA further estimates. The EU target of a 43% reduction would therefore not be met.
However, these projections do not take into account some of the measures that have recently been planned, the reduction already achieved in 2019, or the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the Agency goes on to say.
See the analysis: https://bit.ly/3njUwj0 (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)