EU reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 3.8% in 2019, confirms EEA

Official data, submitted on behalf of the EU to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), shows that EU Member States have managed to collectively reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 3.8% in 2019, the European Environment Agency (EEA) said on 31 May.

With this decrease, the level of GHG emissions in 2019 was 24% lower than in 1990, without taking into account CO₂ removals through land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF). Including these removals, the reduction between 1990 and 2019 amounts to 25.9%.

Almost 80% of the net emission reduction achieved in 2019 was in the heat and power sector.

Rising carbon prices and the fact that gas has become relatively cheaper than coal have led to a significant reduction in the use of coal in favour of gas and renewable energy sources, according to the EEA.

However, CO₂ emissions from the transport sector continued their upward trend in 2019. For road transport, the increase is mainly due to higher fuel consumption by passenger cars, says the EEA.

First estimates of GHG emissions in 2020 are expected in autumn.

See the EEA report: https://bit.ly/2RP1vGp (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)