The Truth about Europe's CO2 Emission Figures

The European Union, being the fifteen members prior to 2004, made the commitment to reduce the emission of CO2 by 8% compared to 1990. Targets to reach for 2012 were set for all individual countries that make up the EU.

But how are we doing? What are the most recent statistics that show the progress we are making towards the Kyoto targets? Europe's energy Portal, energy.eu, publishes a chart that illustrates the goals for all EU nations and the progress they are making towards them. The chart is unique as it will show you the status quo within the blink of an eye.

On top of the chart, the country that has the longest road ahead to meet their Kyoto target, we find Luxembourg. A country still far from their target because their CO2 emission per capita is extremely high; it exceeds that of the USA. Why is the Luxembourg CO2 production towering? Well, probably because Luxembourg is quite wealthy and presumably has lots of cars relative to people.

Another interesting fact the chart reveals is that the ten, post 2004, EU members actually perform extraordinary towards their Kyoto targets. However, this may change in the near future as these Eastern European economies develop rapidly. On top of that there is some resentment in Eastern Europe towards the use of renewable energies, because they require massive investments. It would be interesting to see how their growth effects their CO2 emissions in years to come.

The chart also highlights the position of France as a nation well on the way to meet their Kyoto goals. France extensively makes use of nuclear power plants to produce electricity, opposite to the majority of other EU nations who burn fossil fuels to produce their electricity. Contrary to nuclear energy, fossil fuels contain CO2.

The use of nuclear energy does not find much support in the EU, how will this effect France's plans to install new nuclear power plants, and consequently keep their CO2 emissions low in the future?

The EU CO2 emissions chart on www.energy.eu will answer this and many other questions in the years to come as Europe's post-industrial revolution takes shape.

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