The European Union cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 2 per cent in 2018, according to preliminary estimates released today by the European Environment Agency. However, rising energy consumption continues to hamper progress on the share of energy generated by renewable sources and on energy efficiency.

The European Environment Agency (EEA) report Trends and projections in Europe 2019 — Tracking progress towards Europe’s climate and energy targets presents analysis of the EU progress towards the 2020 and 2030 targets for climate and energy.

The EEA analysis shows that the EU is on track to achieve its 2020 target to reduce GHG emissions by 20 per cent, compared with 1990 levels. Preliminary data indicates that the EU’s total emissions decreased by 2 per cent in 2018, bringing the total reductions to 23.2 per cent below 1990 levels.

However, Member States’ projections are not yet in line with the target for 2030 of at least a 40 per cent reduction in emissions. According to the EEA analysis, Member States’ current policies can deliver only a 30 per cent reduction by 2030, while implementing all reported planned policies could bring the total reduction to 36 per cent.

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