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Greece achieved a 56.3% reduction in emissions in all sectors covered by the European Union’s Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) in 2020 compared to 2005, the third best performance among the 27 EU member states. Slightly better results were recorded only in Denmark, which cut emissions in the ETS sectors by 58.3%, and Estonia, with a 56.4% reduction. However, Greece recorded the highest percentage cut in emissions from coal among the EU’s coal-producing countries, according to a study by Greek environmental think tank the Green Tank.

The reduction in the EU ETS sectors in Greece was largely due to the recent decline in lignite-based electricity generation, which cut CO2 emissions by 14 million tons in 2020 compared with 2018.

 

Among the EU coal producing countries, Greece recorded the greatest percentage cut in emissions from coal (including hard coal and lignite), of 78.9%. The emissions dropped from 43 million tons in 2005 to less than 9.3 million tons in 2020.

 

The reductions in the other major coal-producing countries in the EU were below the EU-27 average, with Germany recording a 49.4% decline, Bulgaria 43.3%, the Czech Republic 35.9%, and Poland 26.5%.

 

At the EU-27 level, the largest percentage decrease in coal emissions was achieved by Belgium, which phased-out coal completely by 2016, followed by Sweden and Austria, which did so in 2020.

 

The EU’s emissions from solid fossil fuels were reduced by 51.8% between 2005 and 2020, but most of this reduction took place during the 3rd EU-ETS phase, between 2013 and 2020, when lignite and hard coal plants were required to pay for CO2 emissions, leading to a 49.5% reduction of their emissions.

 

In the first years of EU ETS, hard coal was leading in emissions among solid fossil fuels, but lignite, which is a more polluting type of coal, later took the lead, and in 2020 accounted for 57.6% of the EU’s emissions from solid fossil fuels, according to the study.

 

 

Source : https://balkangreenenergynews.com