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Spain is one of the worst European offenders in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. Between 1990 and 2017, they increased by 51.7 million tonnes, the largest increase in absolute value in the EU as a whole. In percentage terms, emissions increased by 17.9%, while the EU collectively reduced them by 23.5% over the same period, despite a 58% increase in GDP.
Spain is not alone. According to an official inventory that has just been published by the European Environment Agency, five other countries out of 28 Europeans have failed to reduce their emissions: Austria , Cyprus, Ireland, Malta and Portugal.
Emissions in Spain rose sharply until 2007, then fell sharply when the economic crisis hit
Cyprus, whose emissions increased by 57.8% during this period, and Portugal – by 19.5% – are the main culprits in terms of percentage. But neither one nor the other has as much economic weight as Spain within the EU. The report indicates that the increase in Spain is mainly due to road transport, electricity and heat production, residential emissions and services.
"Emissions in Spain have increased sharply up to 2007, by more than 50%," says economist José Santamarta, member of the Observatory for Sustainability, which explains by the growth badociated with "insufficient change in the energy mix. "And there was an additional factor: the increase in emissions resulting from the increase in road transport due to a greater number of vehicles on Spanish roads.
The report confirms a trend that has lasted for years and shows that Spain succeeds less than others in breaking the links between economic growth and greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, the only time that emissions began to decline significantly was the start of the 2008 economic crisis. Santamarta is optimistic about the future, however, because of the current Spanish government's plans to stimulate the production of electricity. 'renewable energy. Not only will clean energy become cheaper, but the number of electric vehicles will increase dramatically.
United Kingdom and Germany
The report highlights positive developments in the UK and Germany, which together account for 50% of the net reduction of greenhouse gases in the EU over the past 27 years. This is mainly due to the increase in energy efficiency in Germany and changes in the steel sector following the fall of the Berlin Wall. The report also highlights the positive approach of exchanging coal-based electricity for natural gas, as well as the focus on renewable energies and improved management of organic waste.
Cyprus and Portugal are the worst culprits, but they do not weigh as much in the EU as Spain
With regard to the United Kingdom, the report welcomes the exchange of oil and coal for natural gas and, as in Germany, the improvement of waste management and the contraction of the iron and steel industry.
Globally, almost all sectors in the EU have reduced their emissions, although emissions from transport are still an area to be tackled. "For the fourth year in a row since 2013, carbon dioxide emissions from road transport have increased in 2017 for both commercial and private vehicles," the report says.
English version by Heather Galloway.
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