Progress towards national greenhouse gas emission targets in Europe
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 countries 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.
