EU Emissions Decline, Less Markedly in 2016
European Union greenhouse gas emissions fell by 23% between 1990 and 2016, while the economy grew by 53% over the same period, the European Commission said November 7.
Released in Bonn, Germany, as the UN Climate Conference 'COP23' kicks off there this week, the EU report 'Two years after Paris: Progress towards meeting the EU's Climate Commitments' argues that the EU is “firmly on track to meet its 2020 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target”, said the commission.
However EU climate action commissioner Miguel Arias Canete said there remain challenges ahead, as transport emissions in the EU continue to grow: “This is why the Commission will present tomorrow measures to slash emissions from cars and vans in the decade starting 2021". Under the Paris agreement, the EU has committed to cut CO2 emissions by at least 40% by 2030 while modernising the EU's economy and delivering on jobs and growth for all European citizens.
In 2016, EU emissions decreased by 0.7% while GDP grew by 1.9%. Emissions per unit of GDP in the EU also continued to fall.
Eurostat data released May 2017 though showed that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions increased in most EU states in 2016, most notably in Finland (+8.5%), Cyprus (+7%), Slovenia (+5.8%) and Denmark (+5.7%).
Mark Smedley