In 2018, carbon emissions across the EU decreased by 2.5% compared to the year before, according to the preliminary data published by Eurostat today.
In reaction to the Eurostat report, Wendel Trio, Director of Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe said:
“After four years without substantial emission reductions, the EU has finally started to walk the road to the zero-carbon economy. Now we need to start running decisively. To be able to avoid ever wilder extreme weather events, greater drought, food shortages and economic devastation, we need sharp falls in emissions every single year. The new European Parliament, the new European Commission and all EU Member State governments need to put forward new policies and actions to strengthen the decreases and support long-term decarbonization.”
The data strengthens the case for the need to massively scale up climate action in Europe, underscored in the Climate Action Call published by a broad coalition of stakeholders yesterday. Stakeholders demand that current and future EU leaders make climate action a priority for Europe during both the European elections debate and a major EU Summit in Sibiu, Romania tomorrow.
ENDS
Ania Drazkiewicz, CAN Europe Head of Communications, ania@caneurope.org, +32 494 525 738
Notes
The Climate Action Call with a full list of signatories, and short, quality videos with statements of stakeholders supporting the Climate Action Call are available on the website: http://climateactioncall.caneurope.org/
Eight EU countries call for making climate action a priority for Europe https://caneurope.org/publications/press-releases/1766-eight-eu-countries-call-for-making-climate-action-a-priority-for-europe
Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe is Europe’s leading NGO coalition fighting dangerous climate change. With over 150 member organisations from 35 European countries, representing over 1.700 NGOs and more than 47 million citizens, CAN Europe promotes sustainable climate, energy and development policies throughout Europe.
