EU CO2 emissions drop 7.7 percent from 1990 levels: EAA

[Karl]

AFP, 20 June 2008 –

Greenhouse gas emissions from the European Union dropped 7.7% from 1990 to 2006, even as the use of carbon dioxide-intensive coal increased, the European Environment Agency said Friday. If the EU maintains this pace, it would very nearly fulfill its Kyoto commitment to reduce greenhouse gases by eight percent compared to 1990 levels before 2012, the Copenhagen-based Agency said in an annual report.

The year 1990 is a benchmark for the Kyoto Protocol, a legally binding treaty that obliges industrialised countries which have signed and ratified it to trim their output of six carbon gases. The emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), produced mainly by the burning of fossil fuels, remained stable across the EU's 27 nations in 2006 compared to the year before.

But heavier use of coal for power and heat production resulted in an increase of 15.4 million tonnes of CO2 from this sector in 2006. Poland alone accounted for an increment of 7.6 million tonnes of coal-generated emissions. Denmark and Finland turned in the biggest relative increase in greenhouse gas emissions, 10.9% and 16.3% respectively, also due to an increase in the burning of coal to generate power.

EU-15 nations cut emissions by 0.8% -- some 35 million tonnes -- in 2006, accounting for 81% of the EU total. The net reduction in 2006 of greenhouse gases for the EU-27 was due mainly to lower emission of nitrous oxide produced by chemical plants, the report concluded.

Above and beyond its commitments under the Kyoto Protocol, the EU has unilaterally set a goal of reducing the gases that drive global warming 20% by 2020, measured against the 1990 benchmark. Under the Kyoto rules, the EU must report the emissions for each greenhouse gas from every member state on an annual basis.

Source: World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)

[natureguy]

Recently following article was published in Times of India.

LONDON: Germany has been named the world's greenest country in a global energy report. Just a few days ago, the German government had passed a new round of environmental laws as part of its efforts to meet its ambitious carbon dioxide reduction targets.

According to the report, Germany, apart from making one of the world's biggest cuts in nuclear energy last year, slashed its oil and gas use as well. Only the consumption of coal increased.

While passing new environmental laws recently, German Chancellor Angela Merkel had described them as "crucial for climate protection". She had said that they would help the country reduce its 1990 level of emissions by 40 per cent come 2020.

The laws, which target high polluting lorries and make energy saving designs compulsory for homes built after 2009, are expected to allow Germany to shave 35 per cent off 1990 emissions.

[Corey]

One little catch only reason for this seemingly success is this: EU exported their carbon footprint to another country that has some of the worse environmental policy on the planet thus by doing so they actually increased there co2+equivalent when factoring in the entire consumption. Increasing Biofuel consumption when looking at the dud to dust is worse than oil by 10-12 times.

I am almost positive that they ignored those factors to make it look as if it was a win when it was really a failing grade in reality. Often times paper and reality and perspectives don't match.

Analogy: Shifting the peas around the plate then putting those peas in a bog which creates methane instead of co2 .
Which is a worse greenhouse gas.

[natureguy]

I hope you must be having some backup links of your claims

[MartinSykes]

Whether individuals have reduced CO2 or not is always going to be hard to tell because it's so hard to measure at source.

The big picture which is all that really matters is that global atmospheric CO2 concentrations are still rising so whatever people are doing, it's not enough. (source:Trends in Carbon Dioxide)

[Karl]

Originally Posted by MartinSykes

Whether individuals have reduced CO2 or not is always going to be hard to tell because it's so hard to measure at source.

The big picture which is all that really matters is that global atmospheric CO2 concentrations are still rising so whatever people are doing, it's not enough. (source:Trends in Carbon Dioxide)

Good point, this earlier thread reported similar trends for the EU (and elsewhere): 2007: Increased Energy-related Carbon Dioxide Emissions (U.S. Estimate)

So, while the data quoted in at the beginning of this thread suggests a drop over the period of 1990 to 2006, it appears that over 2007 there was an increase. But regardless of what the individual national "reporting" says, the overall NOAA trends seem to be the most instructive and significant. It also simply shows the CO2 levels, without the diversion of attempting to relate it to causality in trends of other parameters.