In all likelihood, readers will not learn much about Eurostat’s estimates of carbon emissions in European Union countries in 2022. The news is likely to remain hidden as it undermines an often one-sided approach to environmental issues, in line with Europe’s dominant vision of ideological environmentalism.
In fact, Eurostat records a 2.8% decrease in carbon dioxide emissions for energy use in the EU compared to 2021, a similar decrease as in Italy. Emissions from fossil fuels (oil and petroleum products, natural gas, coal and peat) for energy use in European Union countries reached almost 2.4 gigatonnes last year, with gas consumption falling by 13%.
The decrease in emissions for energy use affected seventeen EU countries, with decreases in the Netherlands (-12.8%), Luxembourg (-12%), Belgium (-9.7%) and Hungary (-8.6%). ) turned out to be clearer. So far, Germany alone is responsible for a quarter of the EU’s total CO2 emissions from fossil fuels, followed by Italy, Poland (both 12.4%) and France (10.7%). The French data gives us food for thought because the Parisian economy is much larger than Poland’s, but the massive use of nuclear energy causes lower emissions. Estimates by Eurostat paint an even better picture for Europe than that presented by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in its ‘Carbon Emissions in 2022′ report, which shows a 2.5% drop in emissions. But despite positive data from the old continent, global emissions increased by 0.9% last year, reaching a record high of over 36.8 billion tons. This means that given the virtuous behavior of European countries, there are countries that are increasing their emissions (and significantly so). If the United States’ increase is 0.8%, the lion’s share goes to China, which increased emissions by 4.2%. A trend was also confirmed in the first three months of 2023, when Chinese emissions increased by 4% compared to the same period last year and recorded unprecedented levels of greenhouse gases.
Given the increasing demand for fossil fuels, these figures are already impressive, but when you look at the energy sources used, the picture is striking: oil consumption increased by 5.5%, coal consumption by 3.6% and gas consumption by 1.4% %. . The most impressive data relates to coal, one of the most polluting energy sources; Beijing granted permits for 106 gigawatts of capacity at 82 sites in 2022, four times the capacity permitted in 2021 and the equivalent of opening two coal-fired power plants per week. As Europe works to phase out its coal-fired power plants, Beijing is ramping up production with a degree of hypocrisy, using China’s coal-fired power industry to manufacture the components needed to power renewable energy exports to the West. Instead of continuing the process of blaming Europe alone for masochistic social and economic decisions on behalf of the environment, a more pragmatic and less ideological approach would be needed. If the eco-rebels don’t like it, they can always block the streets of Beijing, but we cannot guarantee the outcome of the protest.