The world is looking towards reducing green house emissions and the European Union countries has shown a reduced 24 per cent green house emission, according to the latest annual climate report.
The 27 nations under the EU block showed a decrease of 3.7 per cent of green house gas emission in 2019 when compared to the previous year. The report says that the European Union countries are well in track to achieve the target under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change of reducing GHG emissions by 20 per cent by 2020.
Even as the green house gas emission lowered, the GDP of the countries grew by about 60 per cent, the annual report said.
Stressing that they are confident of the progress, European Commission Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal Frans Timmermans said that there was a need to step up efforts across all sectors of the economy. “The European Green Deal’s policies will drive our green transition and allow us to cut greenhouse gas emissions faster, with a goal of reaching 55 per cent below 1990 levels by 2030. The transition is feasible if we stick to our commitment and seize the opportunities of the recovery to reboot our economy in a greener, more resilient way and create a healthy, sustainable future for all,” said Timmermans.
The annual report said that emissions from stationary installations across the union fell by 9.1 per cent from 2018 to 2019 even before the pandemic. It also said that CO2 emissions from international aviation continued to increase in 2019. It rose by three per cent compared to the previous year.
Step towards net zero emissions in 2050
The report points out that the European Council agreed on becoming climate neutral by 2050 in line with the Paris Agreement. The European Parliament has also endorsed the objective in its resolution on climate change of March. The report said that the actions and policies should pull together to help the EU achieve a successful and just transition towards a sustainable future.
Member States to identify additional policies
The report points out that all the EU States prepared their final integrated National Energy and Climate Plans. Despite this, the report states that further efforts are still needed. It said that the total emissions are projected to be reduced by 30 per cent in 2030 with the adoption of the present national policies and measures.
CO2 emissions standards for new cars, vans and heavy-duty vehicles
The report notes that average emissions from new cars will have to be 15 per cent and 37.5 per cent lower than in 2021 and average emissions from vans will have to be 15 and 31 per cent lower than in 2021. Emissions from new Lorries will have to be 15 and 30 per cent lower than in 2019.
It also said that non-CO2 emissions from agriculture were at a similar level in 2019 as in 2005.
CLIMATE CHANGE
The annual climate report notes that the impacts of climate change were increasingly felt across Europe. It said that the last five years were the hottest. Heatwaves, droughts and wildfires had increased across Europe.
