With greenhouse gas emissions set to rebound in 2021, Europe must get its act together if it is to meet its reduction targets, the European Environment Agency (EEA) said on Wednesday.
According to preliminary data from Member States, highlighted in a new EEA report, greenhouse gas emissions in 2021 were 5% higher than in 2020, largely due to economic recovery. However, these emissions remain 6% below the pre-pandemic level of 2019.
The emissions reduction target of 55% for 2030 - compared to 1990 - "is not expected to be reached according to current projections,” EEA expert Melanie Sporer warned at a press briefing.
“We will need to double our efforts on greenhouse gas emissions every year from 2021 to 2030, compared to 1990-2020, in order to achieve the various European objectives,” she added.
The greatest efforts have been made in the area of energy supply, the most energy-intensive sector in Europe, notes the EEA. In this sector, emissions fell by 43% between 2005 and 2020, whereas they fell by only 15% and 2% in transport and agriculture.
A source of concern, at a time when the green transition needs to be accelerated, is that the total share of renewable energy sources in Europe remained stable at 22% of energy consumption in 2021, marking a pause in its strong expansion of recent years.
This pause is explained by lower contributions from wind and hydropower in 2021, coupled with a rebound in energy consumption this year.
For the EEA, this must be righted quickly – to the tune of an annual increase of 2.5% – to reach the target of 45% of renewable energy in European energy consumption.
