EU greenhouse gas emission have fallen to their lowest level in modern times, the European Environment Agency (EEA) has announced.
By 2024 – the latest available data – the European Union had achieved a 40 percent total reduction in net domestic emissions since 1990.
Emissions have declined by three percent in the last year alone.
The EEA said that the progress towards EU climate goals was made in parallel to a 70 percent increase in GDP, suggesting that Europe has been able to ‘decouple’ economic growth from carbon output.
The largest contributor to the reduction in greenhouse gases came from a 58 percent drop in emissions from electricity and heat production.
Crucial to that has been the switch from fossil fuels, especially coal, to renewable energy, although gas remains a major energy source.
Since 2005, the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) has been the central engine for change, accounting for over three-quarters of the total net reduction, the EEA said.
However, the agency warns of challenges in reaching net zero.
The EEA said that emissions from road transport emissions has continued to rise, up by nearly one-quarter since 1990.
The EEA also warned that the capacity of forests to act as carbon sinks is “weakening”.
The European Union has committed to a legally binding goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.