{"id":37896,"date":"2025-10-01T21:14:56","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T19:14:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/?p=37896"},"modified":"2025-10-01T21:16:22","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T19:16:22","slug":"eu-progress-on-climate-knowledge-for-resilience-prosperity-and-decarbonisation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/2025\/10\/01\/eu-progress-on-climate-knowledge-for-resilience-prosperity-and-decarbonisation\/","title":{"rendered":"EU climate progress: Knowledge for resilience, prosperity and decarbonisation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The European Union (EU) has achieved <strong>significant progress<\/strong> in mitigating climate change and is considered a world leader in this field. Here is an overview of the progress made in reducing greenhouse gas emissions<!--more--> greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions since 1990 and the key factors that have contributed to this progress:<\/p>\n<h3>Progress in reducing GHG emissions since 1990<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Total reduction:<\/strong> The EU has successfully reduced its <strong>domestic GHG emissions by 37 % since 1990<\/strong>If emissions from international aviation and maritime transport (which are included in the 2030 target) are also included, the total net reduction reaches 35.5 %.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Economic growth:<\/strong> This emission reduction was achieved while the EU economy (measured by GDP) <strong>increased by more than two-thirds<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Accelerated reduction:<\/strong> In 2023, the EU&#039;s total net GHG emissions fell by more than 9 % in one year, representing <strong>the largest relative annual emission reduction in the last few decades<\/strong> (except 2020, affected by the COVID-19 pandemic).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Towards the 2030 goals:<\/strong> Current projections indicate that the EU is on track to meet its 2030 target of <strong>reducing net GHG emissions by at least 55 %<\/strong> compared to 1990 levels.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Factors that contributed to reducing emissions<\/h3>\n<p>The progress achieved was mainly due to large-scale policy initiatives and the transformation of key sectors.<\/p>\n<h4>1. Energy system and decarbonization<\/h4>\n<p>The biggest driver of GHG emissions reductions was <strong>reducing the consumption of fossil fuels, especially coal<\/strong>, since 1990.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Growth of renewable resources:<\/strong> The accelerated decarbonisation of the European economy has been made possible by the rapid expansion of renewable energy. The share of renewable energy sources in the EU&#039;s final energy consumption has increased from 10.2 % in 2005 to <strong>24.5 % by 2023<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Energy efficiency:<\/strong> Increased energy efficiency has led to a decline in demand. Primary energy consumption has fallen by 19.2 % since 2005, while final energy consumption has fallen by 10.1 %.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Political support for energy:<\/strong> This shift has been driven by EU policies such as the European Climate Law, the Fit for 55 package and the REPowerEU plan.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>2. Industrial and construction sectors<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Industry:<\/strong> GHG emissions from the industrial sector have fallen significantly, namely <strong>by more than 35 % between 2005 and 2023<\/strong>This reduction can be attributed to improvements in energy and material efficiency and a decrease in emissions from certain production processes.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Buildings:<\/strong> Direct GHG emissions from fossil fuel combustion for heating and water heating in buildings decreased by between 2005 and 2023 <strong>35 %<\/strong>Higher energy efficiency standards for new buildings, improved insulation and a shift to less carbon-intensive fuels, as well as milder winters, have contributed to this.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>3. Policy and regulatory instruments<\/h4>\n<p>The European Union has put in place a robust policy and legal framework:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>European Climate Law:<\/strong> It set binding targets to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 and <strong>reducing net GHG emissions by at least 55 % by 2030<\/strong> compared to 1990 levels.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Emissions Trading System (ETS):<\/strong> It is a key emissions reduction tool that puts a price on carbon. It has helped reduce emissions from European power plants and industrial plants by around 47 % compared to 2005 levels.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Fit for 55 package:<\/strong> It introduced specific targets to enhance natural carbon sinks, reduce methane emissions and ensure access to clean, affordable and secure energy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Sectors with slower progress<\/h4>\n<p>Progress has been slower in some key sectors:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Agriculture:<\/strong> GHG emissions from agriculture (methane and nitrous oxide) decreased by between 1990 and 2023 <strong>25 %<\/strong>, however, most of this progress was made by 2005 and relatively little progress has been made since then.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Transportation:<\/strong> Although GHG emissions from domestic transport have decreased slightly over the last decade, the change has been only marginal. By 2023, GHG emissions from domestic transport were <strong>only 6 % lower than in 2005<\/strong>, but still 18 % higher than in 1990. This trend was mainly driven by increases in passenger and freight transport, which outweighed improvements in energy efficiency and technology.<\/li>\n<li><strong>LULUCF sector (Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry):<\/strong> The EU&#039;s capacity as a net carbon sink in terrestrial ecosystems has declined on average by around <strong>30 %<\/strong> compared to the previous decade (2014-2023). This decline is due to a combination of factors such as aging forests, more frequent and extensive logging, and the increasing impact of climate change (e.g. droughts, pests and forest fires).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Overall, the EU has demonstrated that significant emission reductions can be achieved through clear policy signals and focused efforts on the transition to renewable energy sources and increased energy efficiency. <em><strong>JRi<\/strong><\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The European Union (EU) has made significant progress in mitigating climate change and is considered a world leader in this area. Here is an overview of the progress made in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-klimaticka-zmena"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37896"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37896\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}