Climate change: EU emissions surpass pre-pandemic levels

Firefighters battle the wildfire from a bridge in the Plumas National Forest in California.

Greenhouse gas emissions from economic activities in the European Union returned to levels slightly higher than before the start of the coronavirus pandemic in the last quarter of 2021, the European Union’s statistics office, Eurostat, reported on Monday.

These figures are coming as the EU tries to reduce its dependence on Russian fossil fuels in light of Moscow’s invasion Ukraine. The bloc is also trying to adhere to its climate pledges. Increase the proportion of renewables in our energy mix

What did the data reveal?

All 27 EU member countries saw an increase year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2021. Estonia was the most affected (+28%), followed Bulgaria (+27%) and Malta ( (+23%). The Eurostat data was clear.

GermanyEmissions rose by 5% during the same period.

Individual household consumption accounted for 22% of emissions in the last quarter of 2021. Both manufacturing and electricity production contributed 21%, while agriculture contributed 12%. Transportation and logistics was responsible 11% of the CO2 equivalents.

In total, greenhouse gas emissions in the EU reached 1,041 million metric tons of CO2 equivalents in the last quarter of 2021, an increase from 1,005 million tons in the same period in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic hit.

In the fourth quarter of 2020, emissions in the EU had been down just over 4% on the same period a year earlier as people worked from home more amid COVID restrictions. Other restrictions, such as international travel restrictions, contributed to unusually low greenhouse gas emissions in 2020.

CO2 equivalents is a way to compare different greenhouse gases like methane. It converts their warming potential per metric ton to that of carbon dioxide.

Struggling to meet climate targets

Current climate change is being driven by greenhouse gases. Scientists from The International Panel on Climate Change, (IPCC)To limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, experts have warned that humanity must drastically reduce its emissions by 2030.

The 1.5 degree threshold is the temperature at which it might be possible to avoid the worst effects from climate change.

The EU has set a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 against its 1990 levels, and carbon neutrality that is, no net carbon emissions by 2050.

UN meteorologists said that There is a 50-50 chanceachieving the critical 1.5 degree temperature increase within the next five year.

Will we surpass the 1.5 degree limit in 2026

More wildfires

According to the United Nations World Meteorological Organization in Geneva (WMO), there’s a close to 50% chance that at most one of the next five year’s global temperatures will exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. There could be more wildfires like this one in California’s Plumas National Forest in 2021.

Will we surpass the 1.5 degree limit in 2026

Extreme weather

Petteri Taalas (WMO Secretary-General) says that recent research suggests that the world may temporarily exceed the 1.5 degree Celsius limit. This limit was actually set in the Paris climate agreement as an upper limit. This will likely lead to more extreme weather such as this flooding that occurred in Zhengzhou, Chinese city in 2021 after heavy rain.

Will we surpass the 1.5 degree limit in 2026

Ecosystems damaged

It was not clear that climate changes would accelerate as quickly as they have since 2015, when the global community agreed to limit global warming to below 2°C. The effects are evident in the destruction of ecosystems. 60% of all animal species disappeared from the Marmara Sea, Turkey, which is heavily polluted with wastewater.

Will we surpass the 1.5 degree limit in 2026

Ice caps and melting glaciers

The Arctic has been unusually hot, and the WMO’s Taalas also worries about it. Greenland’s Jakobshavn Glacier melted and released ice into the ocean, causing a 1 millimeter global sea-level rise. Taalas stated that “What happens in Arctic affects all of us.”

Will we surpass the 1.5 degree limit in 2026

Fatal consequences

Humans will have to deal with climate change and extreme weather events more frequently. This is illustrated here. The WMO’s Taalas warned the 1.5 degree Celsius limit was not randomly chosen. It is the threshold at which climate impacts are becoming more harmful to the planet and people.

Will we surpass the 1.5 degree limit in 2026

Climate protection prospects are not good

The alarming news from Geneva comes halfway between COP26, which was the last World Climate Conference in Glasgow, and the next one in Egypt, COP27. While many Europeans are focusing on the war in Ukraine, environmental observers are closely watching. Climate change will continue to be a major emergency, no matter what happens in eastern Europe.

Author: Philipp Bll