EU Commission: greenhouse gas emissions remain 4% below pre-pandemic levels

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the EU remain 4% below pre-pandemic levels. These are the findings of two reports on progress made in the EU climate policy in 2021 - the EU Climate Action Progress Report and the Fuel Quality Report - adopted by the European Commission today. Emissions in 2021 actually rose by 4.8% from their 2020 levels, when they had dropped significantly due to the lockdowns. Nevertheless, they remained 4% below 2019 levels. The data show that EU net domestic emissions are now 30% lower than 1990 levels. According to the Commission, this means that “the EU remains broadly on track to achieve its climate targets”, but “swift action is required” to agree and implement the latest policy proposals needed to achieve “the -55% net GHG emissions target by 2030”. Against this backdrop, “the ‘Fit for 55’ package of proposals that is now being negotiated by the European Parliament” and Member States is crucial. The green transition is not going to be easy, said the Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans, “but the human and economic costs of inaction will only increase the longer we wait. We simply cannot afford to slow down”.
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