The European Union has cut greenhouse gas emissions in every sector - except this one

Emissions of greenhouse gases are falling in Europe – but not in the transport sector, new data shows.

Between 1990 and 2020, the European Union (EU) said it managed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across a range of sectors by the equivalent of more than 1.5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide. This is a fall in emissions of 32%, says Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office, which published the data.

Energy industries in the EU, which has 27 member countries, have seen the biggest fall in greenhouse gas emissions of 46%. This equates to a cut of 657 million tonnes of carbon dioxide over the 30-year period between 1990 and 2020.

Manufacturing and construction saw the next biggest fall in greenhouse gas emissions, of 322 million tonnes, a 44% drop.

The third biggest fall in greenhouse gas emissions was among homes, businesses, institutions and other organizations. This sector cut emissions by 215 million tonnes – a 29% fall.

But transport in the EU, including international aviation, bucked the downwards trend in emissions.

Compared with 1990, emissions from the EU’s transport sector were up by the equivalent of 50 million tonnes of CO2 in 2020. This is an increase of 7%.

In an article on the emissions statistics, Eurostat explains that transport volumes have increased over the past decades. But the data would suggest that “fuel efficiency has not improved substantially enough to offset the increase in transport volume”.

Road transport is the biggest emitter in the EU’s transport sector and accounts for nearly three-quarters of transport-related greenhouse gas emissions, Eurostat says.

International aviation, meanwhile, saw the biggest growth in emissions between 1990 and 2020 in the EU, having doubled over this period.

The data shows a drop equivalent to more than 200 million tonnes of CO2 from the transport sector during the COVID-19 pandemic, when there were lockdowns globally.

The EU says it is an “ambitious contributor” to global efforts to fight climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which are caused by human activity.

The European Commission, the EU’s government, has committed to more than halving greenhouse gas emissions from the EU by 2030 and producing ‘net zero’ emissions by 2050.

More than 70 countries have set net-zero targets like these, the United Nations (UN) says.

They include the biggest polluters – China, the United States, and the European Union – who account for about 76% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

The energy sector emits about three-quarters of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and holds the key to averting “the worst effects of climate change”, the UN says.

Generating energy from renewable sources such as wind or solar, instead of burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas would “dramatically reduce” carbon emissions, it adds.