Greenhouse gas emissions non-ETS (i60)
- 30/11/2023
- objective
- assessment assessment
In 2021, the non-ETS sectors greenhouse gas emissions (not covered by the European Unionʹs emissions trading system: housing, transport, services, agriculture, etc.) in Belgium amounted to 69.5 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent. To achieve the sustainable development goal by 2030, that figure must be reduced to 41.8 million tonnes. The projections of the National Energy-Climate Plan 2021-2030 of Belgium indicate that this objective will not be reached (data available in November 2023). The non-ETS sectors greenhouse gas emissions are therefore developing unfavourably.
Greenhouse gas emissions non-ETS - Belgium - trend assessment
million tonnes CO2 equivalent
| 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2020 | 2021 | 2025 | 2030 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| observations | -- | 78.9 | 78.9 | 72.7 | 64.9 | 69.5 | -- | -- |
| projection (November 2023) | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 60.8 | 52.7 |
| objective 2030 | 41.8 | 41.8 | 41.8 | 41.8 | 41.8 | 41.8 | 41.8 | 41.8 |
European Environment Agency (2023), Greenhouse gas emissions in ESD sectors, https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/esd-4 (consulted on 22/03/2023); CONCERE and Commission nationale climat (2019), National Energy and Climate Plan 2022-2030, https://www.nationalenergyclimateplan.be/en (consulted on 22/03/2023).
Greenhouse gas emissions non-ETS - Belgium
million tonnes CO2 equivalent
| 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2016 | 2020 | 2021 | 2021//2005 | 2021//2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 78.9 | 78.9 | 72.7 | 74.1 | 64.9 | 69.5 | -0.8 | -1.3 |
| //: Average Growth Rates | ||||||||
European Environment Agency (2023), Greenhouse gas emissions in ESD sectors, https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/esd-4 (consulted on 11/10/2023).
Greenhouse gas emissions non-ETS - EU27
billion tonnes CO2 equivalent
| 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2016 | 2020 | 2021 | 2021//2005 | 2021//2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EU27 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2.2 | -0.8 | -0.6 |
| //: Average Growth Rates | ||||||||
European Environment Agency (2023), Greenhouse gas emissions in ESD sectors, https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/esd-4 (consulted on 11/10/2023).
Greenhouse gas emissions non-ETS - Belgium and international comparison
tonnes CO2 equivalent per capita
| 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2016 | 2020 | 2021 | 2021//2005 | 2021//2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 7.5 | 7.2 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 5.6 | 6.0 | -1.4 | -1.7 |
| EU27 | 5.6 | 5.4 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 4.6 | 4.8 | -1.0 | -0.7 |
| //: Average Growth Rates | ||||||||
European Environment Agency (2023), Greenhouse gas emissions in ESD sectors, https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/esd-4; Eurostat (2023), Population change - Demographic balance and crude rates at national level, Population on 1 January [demo_gind], https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat(consulted on 11/10/2023); calculations FPB.
Greenhouse gas emissions non-ETS by region - Belgium
tonnes CO2 equivalent per capita
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2020//2013 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brussels-Capital Region | 3.4 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 2.7 | -3.4 |
| Flemish Region | 7.2 | 6.7 | 7.0 | 7.1 | 6.7 | 7.0 | 6.7 | 6.0 | -2.6 |
| Walloon Region | 6.8 | 6.5 | 6.6 | 6.7 | 6.5 | 6.8 | 6.7 | 6.0 | -1.8 |
| //: Average Growth Rates | |||||||||
National Climate Commission (2023), Report Soldes ESD régionaux, in French and Dutch (consulted on 22/03/2023).
Definition: this indicator measures greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from sectors that are not covered by the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). ETS was established in 2005 in the European Union for companies emitting high levels of CO2 (e.g. power generation, metallurgy, non-metallic ores or fertilisers). GHG emissions are therefore divided into emissions from the ETS sector and emissions from non-ETS sectors, which mainly include transport (excluding aviation), services, housing, agriculture, waste and industries not covered by the ETS. The indicator is expressed in millions of tonnes of CO2 equivalent (Mt CO2 eq.). Comparisons between EU27 countries are based on emissions per capita. Data come from Eurostat.
Goal: GHG emissions from non-ETS sectors must be reduced by 47% between 2005 and 2030.
The Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs adopted by the UN in 2015 include goal 13: “Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts".
The Federal Long-Term Strategic Vision for Sustainable Development includes objective 31: "The Belgian GHG emissions will be reduced domestically by at least 80% to 95% by 2050 as compared to their 1990 level"(Belgian Official Gazette, 08/10/2013).
At European level, the 2030 Climate and Energy Framework aims to reduce non-ETS emissions by 30% between 2005 and 2030. Regulation (EU) 2018/842 on binding annual greenhouse gas emission reductions allocates this target among the Member States (Official Journal of the European Union,19/06/2018). The target set for Belgium is a 35% reduction over the same period. This target is being revised as part of the revision of the overall GHG emissions target (-55% by 2030 compared to 1990, see Greenhouse gas emissions). The Commission's proposal is to reduce non-ETS emissions by 40% at European level (European Commission, 2021). The breakdown by member state sets a target of 47% reduction for Belgium between 2005 and 2030. This target will probably be confirmed when the new regulation will be adopted (in any case it provides a good order of magnitude for the new target). Therefore it is used as target for the non-ETS greenhouse gas emissions indicator.
International comparison: between 2005 and 2021, the decrease in non-ETS GHG emissions in Belgium was of the same order of magnitude than that observed in the EU27 (about 123%). When it comes to emissions per capita, non-ETS emissions of Belgium reach 6.0 tonnes per capita, compared to an EU27 average of 4.8 tonnes in 2021. When Member States are divided into three groups, Belgium is part of the group with the poorest performance in 2021. Only Luxembourg and Ireland have higher emissions per capita. In that year, Malta ranked first with 2.6 t/capita and Luxembourg last with 12.6 t/capita.
UN indicator: the selected indicator does not correspond to any monitoring indicator for the SDGs but is related to goal 13 because the fight against climate change requires a significant reduction in GHG emissions.
Sources
-
General
-
SDGs, Sustainable Development Goals: United Nations (2015), Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 25 September 2015, document A/RES/70/1.
-
Indicators: United Nations (2017), Work of the Statistical Commission pertaining to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 6 July 2017, document A/RES/71/313.
-
UN Sustainable Development: https://sdgs.un.org/ (consulted on 18/01/2023).
- UN Sustainable Development Goal indicators website: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/ (consulted on 18/01/2023).
-
-
Specific
Federal Planning Bureau
At www.indicators.be the Federal Planning Bureau presents sustainable development indicators.
2023 © cic@plan.be