Abby L. Harvey
GHG Monitor
3/6/2015
While the European Union is on track to meets its short-term goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, the EU will not meet its 2050 goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 80-95 percent, according to a new report released this week by the European Environment Agency. “In order to meet its 2050 objectives and contribute fully to meeting the global 2 °C target, the EU will need to accelerate its implementation of new policies, while restructuring the ways that Europe meets its demand for energy, food, transport and housing,” says the European Environment State and Outlook 2015 Synthesis Report. The report is put together every five years to track progress and trends within the EU toward environmental goals.
In addressing goals related to greenhouse gas emissions reductions, the report looks to 2020, 2030 and 2050, analyzing efforts made and projecting future emissions levels based on current trends. “The EU remains far from the 80–95 [percent] reduction needed by 2050. According to Member State projections, existing policy measures would only reduce EU-28 emissions by one percentage point between 2020 and 2030, to 22 [percent] below 1990 levels, and implementing the additional measures currently planned would increase this reduction to 28 [percent]. The European Commission estimates that full implementation of the Climate and Energy Package for 2020 would reduce emissions in 2030 to 32 [percent] below 1990 levels,” the report says.
This is not to discount the advances that have been made and the report notes a significant decoupling of carbon emissions from economic growth, which could lead to greater ease in reducing carbon emissions in the future without harming the economy. “EU-28 greenhouse gas emissions declined by 19 [percent] in the period 1990–2012, despite a 6 [percent] increase in population and a 45 [percent] expansion of economic output. As a result, greenhouse gas emissions per euro of GDP fell by 44 [percent] over this period. EU per capita emissions declined from 11.8 tonnes of CO2-equivalent in 1990 to 9.0 tonnes in 2012,” the report says.
Dependence on Fossil Fuels Must be Curbed
Beyond policy implementation, the report states that in order to cut emissions, the EU must transition more of it energy generation to renewables. “Cutting Europe’s reliance on fossil fuels — by reducing energy consumption and switching to alternative energy sources — is essential to achieve the EU’s 2050 climate policy goals,” the report says. However, the report says, “Fossil fuels continue to dominate EU energy production. Transforming the energy system into an environmentally compatible one requires substantial investments.”
