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EU greenhouse gases decline due to warmer weather not cap-and-trade, new report
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European Parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place June 4 - 7, 2009
(Photo: Thierry Charlier)
Falling greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in EU is not the result of the European emission trading system, this is at least the conclusion of the European Environment Agency’s (EEA) greenhouse gas emissions inventory report released Friday. For although EU greenhouse gases (GHG) declined for the third consecutive year in 2007, falling emissions is largely the result of the lower use of oil- and gas in household services, areas not covered in the cap- and –trade system.
The EEA finds warmer weather and higher fuel prices to be the main reason for the drop in emission 2006-2007, with Germany, for example, reporting an emission decrease of 22.9% due to fewer days requiring heating, a fuel tax increase and a sharp increase in nominal gas prices for households in 2007.
Overall the EU-27’s domestic emissions were 9.3% below 1990 levels, equaling a drop of 59 million tons of CO2 compared to 2006. The EU-15 stands 5% below its Kyoto Protocol base year levels.
A ‘Climate Action and Renewable Energy’ package was adopted by the Council in April with the goal of limiting the rise in global average temperature to no more than two degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels. To achieve the objective EU member states have agreed to reduce total EU greenhouse gas emissions by 20% 2020.
Still, the EU emission trading system – EU ETS – that started to operate in 2005 does not include emissions from household services, transport, waste and agriculture. These non trading sectors currently represent 60% of total EU greenhouse gas emissions.
The EEA report has been submitted to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as the European Community’s official submission.
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