Analysis of Greenhouse Gas Emissions of European Countries with regard to the Impact of Policies & Measures

The most recent progress report under the Greenhouse Gas Monitoring Mechanism (GHGMM) shows that the EU Member States are at present considerably far off their target to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 8 % compared to 1990 levels in the period between 2008 and 2012. According to this report, greenhouse gas emissions were reduced by 2.9 % between 1990 and 2002. However, this reduction was mainly caused by reduced emission in the United Kingdom and Germany. The report shows that most Member States are far from their target path pursuant to the burden sharing agreement. Projections for the EU-15 Member States as a whole show that the greenhouse gas emissions of the community can at best be reduced by 1 % with the existing domestic policies and measures.