What will Europe’s society
and environment look like some thirty years
from now? The PRELUDE project, which attempts
to go far beyond the perspective of two
legislative cycles and explore this question,
will feature prominently for the European
Environment Agency at this year’s four-day
EU ‘Green Week’ event in Brussels, starting
today.
The European Environment Agency is contributing
extensively to both the conference and the
exhibition this year. EEA Executive Director,
Professor Jacqueline McGlade, is one of
the keynote speakers at the opening session
today, alongside Commission President, José
Manuel Barroso, Commission Vice-President,
Margot Wallström, and former UNEP Executive
Director, Klaus Töpfer.
On 13 June, the EEA will provide speakers
for the land use and biodiversity scenarios
conference session. On day three, Professor
McGlade will take part in a conference session
on policy instruments before moderating
a transatlantic debate via satellite on
biofuels.
At the exhibition, the EEA exhibition team
and experts will be on hand to answer questions
about the environment, the Agency and its
work on scenarios. The PRELUDE presentation
can be viewed at the EEA stand throughout
the event.
Linking with the festivities for the 50th
anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, Green
Week 2007 will both look back at 50 years
of European environmental policy and to
the future. It will review past action,
identify success and failures, and look
at the challenges Europe will face in the
future.
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EU greenhouse gas emissions decrease in
2005
Emissions of climate-changing greenhouse
gases (GHG) decreased between 2004 and 2005,
according to the annual GHG inventory report
of the European Community prepared by the
European Environment Agency (EEA), in Copenhagen.
The report, 'Annual European Community Greenhouse
gas inventory 11000-2005 and inventory report
2007', was submitted to the secretariat
of the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as the European
Community's official submission. The EEA
released the main, preliminary, messages
of the report in May 2007 because of public
and political interest in the issue of climate
change. The final version of this report
was submitted to the UNFCCC on 27 May 2007.
The key points of the final report are:EU-15:
Emissions of GHGs decreased by 0.8% (35.2
million tonnes CO2 equivalents) between
2004 and 2005 - mainly due to decreasing
CO2 emissions of 0.7 % (26 million tonnes).
EU-15: Emissions of GHGs decreased by 2.0%
in 2005 compared to the base year[1] under
the Kyoto Protocol.
EU-15: Emissions of GHGs decreased by 1.5%
between 11000 and 2005
EU-27: Emissions of GHGs decreased by 0.7%
(37.9 million tonnes CO2 equivalents) between
2004 and 2005
EU-27: Emissions of GHGs decreased by 7.9%
compared to 11000 levels
[1] The base year for most greenhouse gases
under the Kyoto Protocol is 11000 for the
EU-15, but almost all Member States use
1995 as the base year for fluorinated or
'F-gases'
Which EU-15 countries show the biggest
decreases in GHG emissions?Germany, Finland
and the Netherlands contributed most to
the EU-15 reduction in absolute terms (see
table in Notes to the Editor). Reduction
of CO2 emissions drove the overall decrease
of greenhouse gas emissions in these countries.
Germany reduced emissions by 2.3% or 23.5
million tonnes CO2 equivalents: a shift
from coal to gas in the production of public
electricity and heat was one of the main
reasons for the decrease in emissions. In
addition, emissions from road transportation
and from households and services declined
substantially.
Finland reduced emissions by 14.6% or 11.9
million tonnes CO2 equivalents: emission
reductions were mainly due to a substantial
decrease in the use of fossil fuels in the
production of public electricity and heat
mainly due to electricity imports. Coal
use, in particular, decreased.
The Netherlands reduced emissions by 2.9%
or 6.3 million tonnes CO2 equivalents: less
fossil fuel was used for the production
of public electricity and heat. The household
and service sector used less fuel due to
a warmer winter
Other EU-15 countries which saw emissions
decrease between 2004 and 2005 are: Belgium,
Denmark, France, Luxembourg, Sweden and
UK.
Which sectors are mainly responsible for
the GHG cuts?In absolute terms, the main
sectors contributing to emissions reductions
between 2004 and 2005 in the EU-15 were
public electricity and heat production,
households and services, and road transport.
CO2 emissions from public electricity and
heat production decreased by 0.9% (-9.6
million tonnes) mainly due to a reduction
in the reliance on coal.
CO2 emissions from households and services
decreased by 1.7 % (7.0 million tonnes).
Important decreases in emissions from household
and services were reported by Germany, the
United Kingdom and the Netherlands. One
general reason for the decrease is the warmer
weather conditions (milder winter) compared
to the previous year.
CO2 emissions from road transport decreased
by 0.8% (6 million tonnes). This is mainly
attributed to Germany, and is due to increased
amounts of diesel oil driven cars, the effects
of the eco-tax and fuel buying from outside
Germany (fuel tourism).
Which EU-15 countries have seen the biggest
increases in GHG emissions?
In absolute terms, Spain increased greenhouse
gas emissions the most between 2004 and
2005 (see table in Notes to the Editor).
In Spain, the increase in greenhouse gas
emissions by 3.6% or 15.4 million tonnes
CO2 equivalents came mainly from public
electricity and heat production. This is
due to a rise in electricity generation
from fossil thermal power stations (17 %)
and a decrease in electricity generation
from hydropower plants (-33 %).
Other EU-15 countries which saw emissions
increase between 2004 and 2005 are: Austria,
Greece, Ireland, Italy and Portugal.
The EEA GHG data viewerThe EEA GHG data
viewer is an interactive tool that allows
easy web access to the main data contained
in the EC Greenhouse gas inventory report.
The GHG data viewer enables the user to
view and analyse emission trends for the
main sectors and their sub sectors. It also
facilitates comparison between emissions
from selected countries and sectors. In
addition, the GHG data viewer enables the
production of graphics and the downloading
of key emission estimates.
EEA GHG Data Viewer
Notes to the Editor:What is the annual
GHG inventory report?This report is the
EU's official submission to the UNFCCC on
total domestic greenhouse gas emissions
for the period 11000-2005. Domestic, in
this context, refers to emissions from within
the territory of the EU. It contains information
about GHG emissions for the EU-15 and EU-27.
It also thoroughly explains the process
by which EU emissions are derived and quality
checked.
The EEA is responsible for compiling and
publishing this report annually using information
reported by national governments under the
EC GHG Monitoring Mechanism.
How does the information in the report
fit with the EU Emission Trading Scheme?In
2005 the EU Emission Trading Scheme (EU
ETS) covered approx. 47% of the total CO2
emissions and approx. 39% of total greenhouse
gas emissions in EU-15. The EU ETS covered
approx. 49% of the total CO2 emission and
41% of total greenhouse gas emissions in
EU-25. In general, EU ETS information has
been used by EU Member States as one input
for calculating total CO2 emissions for
the Energy and Industrial Processes sectors
in this report. However, an explicit quantification
of the contribution of the EU ETS to total
CO2 emissions at sectoral and sub-sectoral
level is not yet available for EU-15 or
EU-25.
What is the significance of this report
in the context of the Kyoto Protocol?The
EU-15 has a common target under the Kyoto
Protocol to reduce total greenhouse gas
emissions by 8 %, compared to the base year.
The EU-27 does not have a common Kyoto target.
Official reporting of emissions for compliance
purposes under the Kyoto Protocol does not
begin until 2010 – when emissions will be
reported for the year 2008. In the meantime,
this report is the most relevant and accurate
source of information on greenhouse gas
emissions for the EU. It can be used for
tracking the EU's performance when it comes
to reducing domestic greenhouse emissions
(i.e. emissions within its territory) towards
meeting the Kyoto targets. Parties to the
Kyoto Protocol are allowed to use carbon
sinks as well as the so called 'flexible
mechanisms' to further reduce greenhouse
gas emissions outside their national territories
- as a supplement to domestic reductions.
Hence, domestic action is the primary method
of achieving the Kyoto targets. This inventory
report suggests that domestic emissions
of GHGs decreased by approximately 2.0 %
compared to the base year under the Kyoto
Protocol.
