Indicators

Total greenhouse gas emission trends and projections in Europe

Greenhouse gas emissions in the EU decreased by 31% between 1990 and 2020 — exceeding the EU’s 2020 target by 11 percentage points. This overshoot was propelled by steep emission cuts in 2019 and 2020. While the cut in 2019 was strongly driven by fossil fuel price effects and policy measures, the decline in 2020 was additionally related to the Covid-19 pandemic. EU greenhouse gas emissions are expected to further decline until 2030. Member States have not yet realigned their ambitions to the new net 55% target for 2030, and the further implementation of impactful policies and measures will be important to bring the new 2030 target within reach.

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.