EU states lagging on carbon emission reductions, Commission tells MEPs

EU countries are under-shooting their 2030 greenhouse gases emission reduction targets, a European Commission official told lawmakers during the first meeting of this European Parliament’s environment committee.

Yvon Slingenberg, the director for strategy, analysis and planning in the Commission’s climate department, told MEPs there’s “a clear need to significantly step-up implementation efforts” and accelerate emission reductions in order to stay on track to reach overall climate targets set under the European Climate Law.

Slingenberg addressed MEPs on climate goals under measures such as the Effort Sharing Regulation, which establishes  national targets for greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction by member states by 2030, the Emissions Trading System (ETS), and national energy and climate plans (NECPs). 

“Member states are now in the process of submitting their final national energy and climate plans taking into account the Commission’s recommendations,” said the EU executive representative.

To date, only ten EU countries have submitted their final NECPs — Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Sweden, despite the deadline being 30 June. The Commission urged the remaining countries to deliver their plans. However, the EU executive’s projection, based on last December’s assessment, of the draft NECPs is that current plans would lead to an overall reduction of 51% of GHGs by 2030, spokesman Tim McPhie told Euronews.

“Their [member states] projections are not bringing us to the targets … We’re not on track in serious parts of climate policy,” said German EPP lawmaker Peter Liese, adding that national estimates tend to be too optimistic.

Slingenberg told MEPs action is most needed to reduce GHG emissions in buildings and transport, agriculture and carbon sinks, such as forests and oceans.

Luke Haywood, policy manager for climate and energy at the Brussels-based umbrella organisation European Environmental Bureau (EEB), said the new EU mandate “must set task forces to assess progress on energy savings, renewables, and electrification.” 

“An EU energy agency is also urgently needed to make widely available reliable data to guide Europe’s energy transition,” EEB’s Haywood added, to lead the transition to carbon neutrality “with authority, transparency, and consistency”.

Genady Kondarev, senior associate at the energy think tank E3G said that despite many EU countries being behind on their submission plans, these plans (NECPs) are essential for signalling the bloc’s climate commitments ahead of COP30 next year in Brazil.