EU says it is ‘well on track' to reach 2030 emissions target

Euronews

28-05-2025

The EU is 'well on track' to reach its 2030 climate targets, the European Commission said on Wednesday.
An assessment of updated National Climate and Energy Plans (NECPs) shows the EU is on course to achieve a 54 per cent emissions reduction by 2030 - just one per cent shy of its legally binding 55 per cent target.
It reflects increased efforts by member states to curb their emissions over the last two years, despite demands from some for the bloc to weaken its green commitments.
But civil society organisations say there are significant flaws in these plans and they remain concerned about whether governments can fully implement them.
'The EU's 2030 climate and energy targets are clearly achievable, but without effective national policies and credible financing - both of which are largely lacking in the updated plans - implementation will fall short,' says Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe's climate policy expert Giulia Nardi.
NECPs detail how each member state intends to reach the bloc's long-term target of being climate neutral by 2050 and cutting emissions by 55 per cent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
The 2030 target is one of the most ambitious among major economies around the world. The Commission is now preparing to propose a new target for 2040 - one that could be as high as 90 per cent.
It attributed the progress towards the 2030 goal to action in the energy sector, with renewables covering 24 per cent of energy consumption in the EU in 2023. Most member states are now aligned with the target of reaching a share of 42.5 per cent by 2030, according to the Commission.
Agriculture and transport were among the sectors lagging behind on emissions cuts. Belgium, Estonia and Poland were also singled out for not submitting their NECPs and were urged to 'do so without delay'.
'Emissions are down 37 per cent since 1990, while the economy has grown nearly 70 per cent, proving climate action and growth go hand in hand,' EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said.
He urged member states to 'build on this momentum', adding that investing in clean technology and innovation was 'essential' for industrial competitiveness and opening up new markets for EU companies.
The Commission has called on countries to stay on course and fully implement the plans they have put forward.
'We have reasons to be proud, although we cannot be satisfied. We've come a long way, but we're not where we need to be yet,' said Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen.
Civil society groups say that their preliminary analysis of these NECPs shows that major shortcomings still remain. They point out that many lack the necessary ambition and policies to deliver the emissions reductions required, particularly in the field of energy efficiency.
A coalition of NGOs from France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Malta is calling on the European Commission to launch legal action against their governments. They believe that the shortcomings in their climate plans are not just policy failures but breaches of EU law.
States have a legal obligation to deliver climate action, and the Commission has a clear responsibility to uphold and enforce EU law in response.
CAN Europe also says that compulsory citizen involvement in the process has proven to be particularly weak with either opaque or flawed processes. It is a missed opportunity to strengthen plans by involving people in their creation.
'National climate plans are only as strong as the processes implementing them,' Nardi adds.
'By sidelining public participation and failing to establish clear accountability mechanisms, governments are weakening the foundation of their climate commitments.'
Black carbon emissions from European shipping in the Arctic have been significantly underestimated, a new study suggests.
Produced by the incomplete combustion of fuels in ship engines, black carbon is contributing to the rapid loss of Arctic sea ice.
Previous reports have only focused on vessels flying EU flags, overlooking the impact of ships travelling to and from EU ports.
'Our findings show that ships connected to EU trade, regardless of their flag, are major drivers of black carbon pollution in the Arctic,' says Liudmila Osipova, senior researcher at the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), and lead author of its new study.
'Recognising these emissions in future policies could help the EU better align its climate goals with its real footprint in the Arctic.'
As Arctic shipping activity increases, so too are the associated black carbon (BC) emissions.
Between 2015 and 2021, BC emissions in the International Maritime Organisation (IMO)'s definition of the Arctic nearly doubled, according to the study.
In the more broadly defined Geographic Arctic, shipping emitted 1.5 kilotonnes (kt) of BC and 12 kt of CO₂ in 2021. About a quarter of these emissions occurred within the IMO definition of the Arctic, indicating a strong growth in BC emissions in the polar area, from 193 tonnes in 2015 to 413 tonnes six years later.
This growth trend is concerning, since one tonne of black carbon has a global warming effect equivalent to 900 tonnes of CO₂, as it absorbs more heat in the atmosphere.
BC's impact is particularly pronounced in the Arctic. When the sooty particles settle on snow or ice, they reduce the albedo of these surfaces, meaning they reflect less light and so melt faster.
This compounds the climate challenges in a region which is already heating up three to four times faster than the global average.
Despite its potent climate and health impacts - it is linked to lung cancer, respiratory illness, and cardiopulmonary disease - BC remains one of the most unregulated short-lived climate and air pollutants.
Brussels typically only accounts for the emissions from its EU-flagged ships in the Arctic. To give a truer picture of the pollution over which the bloc has control, ICCT has also totted up BC and CO₂ from EU-regulated ships, which answer to the EU Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) system as they voyage between EU ports.
These vessels are the bigger polluters, it found. BC and CO₂ emissions from EU-regulated ships of at least 5,000 gross tonnage were nearly double those from EU-flagged ships in the IMO Arctic in 2021.
That year, nearly three-quarters of the ships operating in the Geographic Arctic and half of those in the IMO Arctic were navigating to or from EU ports.
To address a significant gap in its maritime regulation, the researchers say that EU policymakers could include BC among the pollutants measured and reported within the bloc's MRV system.
Beyond improved emissions tracking, there are various ways to reduce BC emissions, such as incentivising ships to use distillate instead of residual fuel, and encouraging the installation of diesel particulate filters on board.