On Friday 4 April, the European Commission published the verified emissions data for 2024 for the sectors covered by the European Union Emissions Trading System (ETS).
On the basis of the data submitted by Member States, the Commission reports a 5% reduction in emissions compared to 2023 for all stationary installations (industrial and energy sites) and aircraft operators (airlines).
In fact, total emissions from the sectors covered have fallen by almost 50% since 2005, which is encouraging for achieving the target of -62% by 2030.
With a 12% reduction in emissions, the electricity sector is the “most important driver” of this trend.
This result can be explained in particular by an increase in the production of renewable electricity - with +8% from solar and hydro power and +5% from nuclear power - and the fall in production from gas (-8%) and coal (-15%).
Furthermore, in industry, although emissions remained stable, there were disparities between sectors, with +7% for fertilisers and -5% for cement.
In aviation, emissions rose by 15% as a result of the broadening of the geographical coverage of the ETS.
Finally, for the first time, in 2024, maritime transport has been taken into account (see EUROPE 13169/33).
More than 70 million tonnes of CO2 were recorded by the THETIS-MRV platform developed by the European Maritime Safety Agency (https://aeur.eu/f/gbb ).
Verified emissions for 2024: https://aeur.eu/f/gb9 (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)