Good news are rare these days and cause for celebration are even more scarce, so here are some positive news. It has been officialized last week, the European Union has cut its emissions by 40 percent between 1990 and 2024. As per the European Environment Agency :
“Over the last 34 years, the overall decline in EU’s net domestic emissions was driven by a larger share of renewable energy, the use of less carbon intensive fossil fuels, improved energy efficiency, and structural economic changes “
(…) GHG emissions from electricity and heat production are regulated by the European Union (EU) Emissions Trading System (ETS) and have fallen by a notable 58% since 1990.
(…) Between 1990 and 2024, there has been a continued decoupling of gross domestic product (GDP) from GHG emissions in the EU, with GDP increasing by over 70% and net domestic GHG emissions falling by 40 % in the same time period. These trends have also contributed to better air quality, more innovation, and improved energy security.
Switching from coal to renewables such as wind and solar photovoltaic has indeed played a major part in this. I previously blogged that renewables now account for 44% of the EU electricity mix and wind power is now producing more electricity than natural gas.
Energy efficiency also played a critical role in this sharp decline in greenhouse gases emissions. As Jan Rosenow, Professor of Energy and Climate Policy at Oxford University, stated on Linkedin citing Odyssee-mure.eu data :
Without energy efficiency, the EU would need 31% more energy today — and pay 31% more for it. That’s not a projection. That’s what the data show.
Since 2000, efficiency improvements have removed 265 Mtoe of demand from the European economy — more than the combined annual consumption of France and Poland.
(…) Efficiency isn’t just good climate policy. It’s the best energy security policy the EU has ever implemented.
Let us hope the current crisis we find ourselves in will push for even more energy efficiency and sufficiency within Europe and beyond.
But not everything and every economic sector however is seeing its emissions decrease. in the European Union The transportation sector – with the adoption of larger vehicles such as SUVs – have seen an actual increase in emissions.
As gas prices are rising again fast because of yet another war in the Middle East, it’s time our politicians and fellow Europeans demand change.
I will come back for more on this very topic, so for this and for much more, stay tuned !
Photo credits : Alexandre Lallemand on Unsplash.
