EEA report shows overall reduction in EU greenhouse gas emissions
A European Environment Agency (EEA) report on 'European Community and Member States greenhouse gas emission trends 1990-99' shows an overall reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Europe during this period. The study, published in August this year, shows that in 1999 total EU GHG emissions were down two per cent on 1998 levels and four per cent on 1990 levels. According to the report, the key reasons for the fall between 1998 and 1999 included the continuing fuel shift from coal to gas in electricity production and a relatively mild winter. The report said that within these figures, emissions of carbon dioxide in the 15 Member States were down 1.4 per cent from 1998 and 1.6 per cent from 1990. These reductions were achieved despite a growth in real GDP (gross domestic product) of 2.5 per cent and an increase of 0.9 per cent in energy use across the EU from 1998 to 1999. This decoupling of greenhouse gas emissions from economic growth and energy use is even more marked from 1990 to 1999, during which the EU population grew by 3.2 per cent and EC GHG emissions decreased from 11.5 to 10.7 tonnes per capita. The report pinpoints Germany and the UK as the largest emitters of GHGs, together accounting for roughly 40 per cent of overall EU emissions. These two Member States achieved total greenhouse gas emission reductions of 81 mega-tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents compared to 1998 and 330 mega-tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents compared to 1990. The main reasons for this were increasing efficiency in German power and heating plants and economic restructuring of the country following reunification. The EEA also quoted a recent report which claimed that the effects of German unification and economic restructuring and the liberalisation of the electricity market in the UK together account for roughly half of the reduction in GHG emissions from these countries. The EEA also analysed the positions of the different member States in relation to the Kyoto GHG emissions targets. It found that Germany, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom are leading the field while France, Finland and Sweden are also making positive contributions to EU emissionstargets. All other EU Member States, however - Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Ireland Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain - were making a negative contribution to the overall EC trend, with Spain, Ireland and Portugal performing particularly badly.' The study also analysed the different sectors responsible for greenhouse gas emissions in the EU. They found that emissions from transport have risen rapidly since 1990, due mainly to growth in road transport in almost all Member States. This included an increase in emissions of N2O (nitrous oxide) due to the increased use of catalytic converters, which reduce air pollutant emissions but produce N2O as a by-product. The second key emissions source in which substantial increases were observed was HFC (hydrofluorocarbon) emissions from industrial processes. Some HFCs are used as substitutes for ozone-depleting CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons), which were gradually phased out in the 1990s. The largest reductions were achieved in the energy sector, particularly electricity and heat production, due largely to energy efficiency improvements and shifts from coal to gas in several Member States. The second largest reduction in GHG emissions was in the emission of N2O in UK, French and German chemical industries, brought about by specific measures in adipic acid production in these countries. The EEA report notes large differences between emissions trends across EU Member States during the period covered by the report. These disparities are due not only to socio-economic and meteorological factors, but also to the implementation of national policies which have a direct or indirect effect on greenhouse gases. Taking CO2 emission as an example, the report shows that one of the most important reasons for declining CO2 emissions from energy industries in several Member States, most notably the UK, is a switch from coal to gas fuel in thermal power production. It says that this change led to a 20 per cent reduction in CO2 gas emissions in the UK over the period 1990 to 1999, driven largely by the liberalisation of the UK electricity market. The report adds, however, that lower consumer electricity prices brought about by this market liberalisation also acted as a disincentive for energy efficiency improvements at the consumer level. The report also points to the increased use of combined heat and power (CHP) generation in the EU and an increase in the use of power production from renewable energies. It said that Denmark made particular progress in the use of wind power, which grew almost five per cent from 1990 to 1998, accounting for nearly seven per cent of power production by the end of this period. The EEA highlight Finland, Sweden and the UK as having the lowest carbon dioxide emission and road fuel growth rates in the EU, positing high or growing fuel prices as a possible reason for this. The report also said that ecological tax reform had been used to stimulate more environmentally-friendly energy use, particularly in Nordic countries and Germany. Under the Kyoto protocol, the EU agreed to reduce its GHG emissions by eight per cent from 1990 levels by 2008-12.