All official European Union website addresses are in the europa.eu domain.
See all EU institutions and bodiesDo something for our planet, print this page only if needed. Even a small action can make an enormous difference when millions of people do it!
Press Release
Many different policies have played an active role in bringing down greenhouse gas emissions. Alongside renewable energy or energy efficiency, efforts to reduce water pollution from agriculture also led to emission reductions. This experience shows we can reduce emissions further if we consider the climate impacts of various policies more systematically.
Professor Jacqueline McGlade, EEA Executive Director
The latest analysis of greenhouse gas trends in the EU was published by the EEA today in three reports which together analyse emissions levels since 1990 and look forward to the EU's greenhouse gas emission reduction target for 2020 and beyond. They also cover progress towards Kyoto Protocol targets, early estimates for 2010 emissions levels and an analysis of drivers of emissions since 1990. Overall, EU emissions declined by 15.5 %.
EU-15 emissions were 10.7 % below base year levels, still well below its collective 8 % reduction target for the 2008–2012 period. However, of the 15 EU Member States with a common commitment under the Kyoto Protocol (the 'EU-15'), Austria, Italy and Luxembourg were still lagging behind their Kyoto Protocol targets at the end of 2010.
Looking ahead to 2020, EU Member States will have to implement planned measures to achieve the Union’s unilateral 20 % reduction commitment, itself a precursor to the much deeper emission cuts needed in the long run to build a low-carbon economy.
"Many different policies have played an active role in bringing down greenhouse gas emissions", Professor Jacqueline McGlade, EEA Executive Director, said. "Alongside renewable energy or energy efficiency, efforts to reduce water pollution from agriculture also led to emission reductions. This experience shows we can reduce emissions further if we consider the climate impacts of various policies more systematically."
The three reports published today by the EEA provide a comprehensive picture on the past and future developments of greenhouse gas emissions in Europe:
Under the Kyoto Protocol, the EU-15 has a common commitment to reduce emissions on average by 8 % between 2008 and 2012 compared to emissions in the 'base year' (mostly 1990). All of the EU-12 countries except Cyprus and Malta have national emission targets under Kyoto but the EU-27 does not have a common target under the Protocol and therefore the EU-27 does not have an applicable base year against which to compare emission changes. Emission changes compared to 1990 are relevant for the EU-27 as it has made a commitment to achieve at least a 20 % reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 compared to 1990 (or even 30 %, if the conditions are right). This target is also one of the headline targets of the Europe 2020 strategy.
The EEA is based in Copenhagen. The Agency aims to help achieve significant and measurable improvement in Europe’s environment by providing timely, targeted, relevant and reliable information to policymakers and the public.
For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/media/newsreleases/eu-greenhouse-gas-emissions-estimated or scan the QR code.
PDF generated on 10 Dec 2024, 09:48 PM
Engineered by: EEA Web Team
Software updated on 26 September 2023 08:13 from version 23.8.18
Software version: EEA Plone KGS 23.9.14
Document Actions
Share with others