greenhouse gases

New EU plan targets 90% greenhouse gas cut by 2040

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The European Commission has presented a plan aiming to slash net greenhouse gas pollution in the EU by 90 percent by 2040, compared to 1990 levels, with a focus on carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels and gases from agriculture and land use.

Market officials have described the plan’s goal of coming close to climate neutrality ten years before 2050 as highly ambitious.

The 2040 targets are a first step for energy legislation proposals concerning buildings, transport, alternative green fuels, industry and renewables.

Extending energy legislation beyond 2030 promises to serve as a major catalyst for development of technologies and investments.

The European Commission’s proposals, announced ahead of elections in June, will activate a new energy policy cycle, as was the case, years ago, when 2030 targets were set, triggering spectacular growth in the renewable energy, energy saving and electromobility sectors.

The new 2040 targets will be even more challenging as the 90 percent greenhouse gas reduction target will require tremendous change in the energy, agriculture and land-use domains, amongst others.

The European Commission plan’s proposals are based on extremely detailed simulation of the respective energy systems of EU member states and projections made through exclusive usage of PRIMES, a mathematical model developed at the National Technical University of Athens for all of Europe – it has been consistently applied since 1995 for all EU energy policy proposals – and studies conducted by the Athens-based E3 Modelling scientific team for energy and transportation.

 

Greece’s greenhouse gas emissions down 8.3% in Q1

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Greece’s greenhouse gas emissions fell by 8.3 percent in the first quarter of 2023, the fourth-largest drop in the EU, according to data published by Eurostat.

Bulgaria registered the EU’s biggest greenhouse gas emissions reduction in the first quarter, down 15.2 percent, followed by Estonia (14.7%) and Slovenia (9.6%).

The biggest increases in greenhouse gas emissions were registered by Ireland, up 9.1 percent, Latvia (7.5%) and Slovakia (1.9%).

Overall, the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions fell by 2.9 percent in the first quarter, dropping to 941 million tons from 969 million tons.

Households were the biggest polluters as they were responsible for 24 percent of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions in the first quarter, followed by the industrial sector (20%), electricity and natural gas sectors (19%), agriculture (13%) and transportation (10%).

Coal-fired power plants rank as EU’s biggest polluters

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Greenhouse gas emissions rose by 6 percent in the EU’s ETS in 2022, compared to 2021, but remained lower than levels recorded in pre-pandemic 20219, a new study by energy thinktank Ember has shown.

Though coal-related emissions are on a downward trajectory, coal was responsible for over 60 percent of emissions in EU electricity generation last year, according to the study.

The EU’s ten biggest polluters are coal-fired power plants – most of these are located in Poland and Germany – and were responsible for 25 percent of the energy sector’s emissions in 2022, according to the Ember study.

Greece recorded a marginal 0.1 percent increase in overall greenhouse gas emissions, while the country’s lignite-fired power plant emissions increased by 1.1 percent in 2022.

Greece was ranked low in terms of green energy’s share of the energy mix, which reached 43 percent in 2022. Lignite-fired electricity production’s share of the energy mix reached 10.4 percent in Greece last year, the study showed.

Over the past six years, three energy companies have ranked as the EU’s biggest greenhouse gas emitters, these being Germany’s RWE, Poland’s PGE and the Czech Republic’s EPH, the study showed.

RWE topped this list in 2022 with 75 Mt CO2e, a 3 percent increase compared to 2021. Greek power utility PPC emitted 15.9 Mt CO2 in 2022.

Just Transition Fund excludes support for all gas projects

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The EU’s Just Transition Fund, takings its cue from the European Investment Bank, has left natural gas projects of its funding list, noting it will not provide financial support for any investments concerning production, processing, distribution, storage or consumption of fossil fuels.

This exclusion creates issues for all the country’s natural gas projects, big or small, which authorities would have wanted to be supported by the Just Transition Fund.

They include a power utility PPC plan for a combined gas-fueled cooling, heat and power plant in Kardia, northern Greece, for coverage of the west Macedonia region’s telethermal needs, announced by the energy minister Costis Hatzidakis just days ago.

Other Greek project plans such as the Alexandroupoli FSRU and the development of an underground natural gas storage (UGS) facility at a virtually depleted offshore gas field south of Kavala have already been rejected by the EIB, unless hydrogen is incorporated into their plans to convert them into eco-friendly projects.

Natural gas, emitting approximately half the amount of CO2 produced by coal, also spills out methane, an undesired greenhouse gas.

Climate protection advocates insist new natural gas units could end up operating for decades, which would threaten the EU objective for zero emissions by 2050.