EU legislation has led to improvements in air quality, with the percentage of urban citizens exposed to pollutant levels above standards set to protect human health falling between 2000 and 2019. However, poor air quality remains a problem: in 2019, 21% of citizens were exposed to O 3 and 10% to PM 10 levels above EU standards. This is mainly because of emissions from transport and buildings, but also from agriculture and industry. Without radical changes to mobility, energy and food systems and industry, it is unlikely that air quality targets will be met in the near future.
It reports the number of electric cars (battery electric vehicles - BEV and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles - PHEV) newly registered in EU27, Iceland, Norway and United Kingdom in 2020
Historical greenhouse gas emissions from the EU buildings sector show a decreasing trend since 2005. This is the result of the implementation of higher standards for new buildings, measures to increase energy efficiency in existing buildings (e.g. through changing of heating systems, thermal insulation and more efficient heating systems), measures to decarbonise the electricity sector but also warmer temperatures. These reductions were partly offset by the increase in dwellings and by a larger average floor area in buildings. The trend in reducing emissions is expected to continue in the future, but a very strong increase in the renovation rate is needed to meet the overall EU 2030 emissions target.
Through its land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) activities, the EU currently removes a net total of 249 Mt CO 2 e from the atmosphere every year, equivalent to 7% of its annual greenhouse gas emissions. The sector will play a crucial role in helping the EU achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Doing so will require reversing the current decreasing trend of the EU's carbon sink . According to national projections from EU Member States, current measures in place will not be sufficient to achieve this, with an average removal of 200 Mt CO 2 e per year in 2030. However, implementing the national measures currently at planning stage could increase the current EU carbon sink by 3%.
Greenhouse gas emissions from the agriculture sector are covered by national annual emission targets. Between 2005 and 2019, the EU’s agriculture emissions remained stable. Current national projections only foresee a modest decline of 2% by 2030, compared with 2005 levels, and a 5% reduction with the implementation of currently planned measures. This projected progress remains largely insufficient and highlights the need for further action if Member States are to reach their binding annual targets and the EU its climate neutrality goal by 2050.
The Covid-19 pandemic had a profound impact on energy consumption in the European Union. In 2020, the EU’s primary energy consumption (for all energy uses) experienced a historical drop following 2 years of moderate reductions. Final energy consumption (by end users) also saw a significant decrease, albeit less pronounced. This contributed to the EU meeting their 2020 energy efficiency targets for both primary and final energy consumption. A rebound must be avoided; and long-term reductions remain necessary to achieve the EU’s energy and climate objectives for 2030 and 2050.
With a 21.3% share of energy consumed from renewable sources in 2020, the EU has reached its headline target (20%) for 2020, according to EEA early estimates. This success builds upon years of consistent work by all Member States, even if national progress is uneven. The exceptional circumstances of 2020, marked by disruptions in all economic sectors due to the pandemic, have facilitated meeting the renewable energy target by lowering total energy consumption. An unprecedented transformation in the energy system will still be necessary to meet the 32% renewable energy target set for 2030.
In 2019, the EU was not on track to meet its target to reduce the greenhouse gas emission intensity of fuels sold for road transport to 6% below 2010 levels by 2020. Between 2010 and 2019, emission intensity decreased by 4.3%, mostly due to the increased use of biofuels. Finland and Sweden are the only Member States whose emission intensities decreased by more than 6%, with the Netherlands reporting a 5.8% reduction in 2019. If the indirect land use change (ILUC) effects of biofuel production are considered, the emission intensity of fuels sold in the EU also decreased between 2018 and 2019, due to the limited substitution of oil crops as feedstocks by sugars.
The Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action ((EU) 2018/1999) requires Member States to report national projections of anthropogenic GHG emissions. Every two years, each EU Member State shall report GHG projections in a ‘with existing measures’ scenario for the years 2020, 2025, 2030, 2035 and 2040, by gas (or group of gases) and by sector. National projections shall take into consideration any policies and measures adopted at Union level. The reported data are quality checked by the EEA and its European Topic Centre for Climate Change Mitigation and Energy (ETC/CME).
This figure shows the greenhouse gas emission targets, historical and future trends for the EU Member States (EU-27).
The share of energy from renewable sources used for transport in the EU increased from under 2% in 2005 to almost 9% in 2019. Preliminary EEA data indicate that in 2020, this increased further to 10.1%. This suggests that collectively the EU countries reached the 10% target for share of energy from renewable sources in all forms of transport. However, EEA preliminary estimates show that this target was actually achieved by less than half of EU Member States.
Greenhouse gas emissions in the EU decreased by 31% between 1990 and 2020 — exceeding the EU’s 2020 target by 11 percentage points. This overshoot was propelled by steep emission cuts in 2019 and 2020. While the cut in 2019 was strongly driven by fossil fuel price effects and policy measures, the decline in 2020 was additionally related to the Covid-19 pandemic. EU greenhouse gas emissions are expected to further decline until 2030. Member States have not yet realigned their ambitions to the new net 55% reduction target for 2030, and the further implementation of impactful policies and measures will be important to bring the new 2030 target within reach.
EU greenhouse gas emissions covered by national reduction targets decreased by 15% between 2005 and 2020, which is significantly more than the 10% reduction foreseen in the Effort Sharing Decision (ESD). These reductions were largely driven by improvements in energy efficiency and the switch to less carbon intensive fuels, including renewable energy. Preliminary emissions data for 2020 show that 21 EU Member States are expected to be below their national emission targets for that year. Six Member States are expected to have emissions above their 2020 target levels, despite the effects of the measures to address the pandemic.
Greenhouse gas emissions from the EU’s transport sector increased steadily between 2013 and 2019, a trend that diverges significantly from those in other sectors during that period. Preliminary estimates for 2020 indicate a substantial drop in transport emissions, due to decreased activity during the Covid-19 pandemic. It is anticipated that transport emissions will rebound after 2020. National projections compiled by the EEA indicate that even with measures currently planned in the Member States, domestic transport emissions will only drop below their 1990 level in 2029. International transport emissions (aviation and maritime) are projected to continue increasing.
This figure shows the EU-27 greenhouse gas emission targets, historical and future emission trends of the Effort Sharing, ETS and LULUCF.
The greenhouse gas emission intensity of power generation in the EU has been continuously decreasing over the last three decades: generating 1 kilowatt hour in 2020 emitted, on average, half as much CO 2 as in 1990. Policies have been playing an important role in driving this shift towards less carbon-intensive energy sources, in particular those addressing climate change, renewable energy supply and efficient energy use, and industrial emissions. The Covid-19 pandemic hardly affected electricity use in 2020, but the continued growth of renewable electricity caused a further drop in the greenhouse gas emission intensity of electricity generation.
The Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EC and its recast 2018/2001/EU commit the EU to achieving a 20 % share of renewable energy sources (RES) in its gross final energy consumption by 2020, and 32 % by 2030. They also set a target of 10 % share of renewable energy in transport by 2020, and 14% by 2030.
Since early access to the most recent information on the growth of RES is relevant for all stakeholders, the EEA and its European Topic Centre for Climate Change Mitigation and Energy (ETC/CME) produce each year a set of early estimates concerning the RES shares achieved by the countries and the EU as a whole in the previous year. The current data set concerns the EEA 2020 RES share proxies. The cut-off date for most data sources incorporated in the calculation of the approximated RES shares is 31 July of the publication year.
This figure shows the progress of EU Member States towards their Effort Sharing targets 2020 and 2030.
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