National Emission reduction Commitments Directive reporting status 2022

Progress towards the emission reduction commitments

Under the National Emission reduction Commitments Directive, the year 2020 saw a transition to a new, more ambitious set of national emission targets. Until the end of 2019, emission ceilings set in 2010 were applicable for four pollutants, namely nitrogen oxides (NO_x), non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), ammonia (NH₃) and sulphur dioxide (SO₂) (EU, 2016). From 2020 to 2029, more ambitious emission reduction commitments apply, with even more ambitious commitments due to apply from 2030 onward. 

The analysis presented here is based on the latest air pollutant emission inventory data, as reported by Member States in February 2022. It constituted the first opportunity to assess emission reduction performance against the 2020-29 emission reduction commitments. Member States have reported annual emission inventory information since 1990 — or in the case of fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) since 2000 —up to two years before the year of submission. The briefing assesses the emission reductions required by Member States to meet their emission reduction commitments for 2020-2029 and presents the reduction effort still needed as a percentage of their 2020 emission levels. Finally, it assesses progress towards the more stringent national emission reduction commitments set for 2030 and beyond.

Status of achieving the 2020-2029 emission reduction commitments under the NEC Directive

Figure 1 presents the number of Member States currently meeting their national reduction commitments for the five key pollutants for 2020-2029. It also shows the number of Member States that need to reduce their 2020 emission levels by less than 10%, 10%-30%, 30%-50%, and more than 50% to meet their commitments.

Figure 1. Number of Member States that met their 2020-29 national emissions reduction commitments for the five key pollutants in 2020, and number of Member States that need to reduce 2020 emission levels to meet their commitments.

Note: This information is based on data provided by Member States, not yet checked by the European Commission. The numbers are subject to change in relation to the results of the NEC directive inventory review.

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State of play of achievement of the 2020-2029 emission reduction commitments by pollutant for 2020:

• For NH₃, 16 Member States met their commitments in 2020, while 11 Member States must still reduce their emissions.
• For NMVOC, 24 Member States met their commitments in 2020, while three Member States must still reduce their emissions.
• For NO_X, 25 Member States met their commitments in 2020, while two Member States must still reduce their emissions.
• PM_2.5, 25 Member States met their commitments in 2020, while two Member States must still reduce their emissions. 
• For SO₂, 26 Member States met their commitments in 2020, while one Member State must still reduce its emissions.  

While all but one Member State successfully met its SO₂ emission reduction commitments, continued and enhanced efforts are needed to bring down ammonia emissions, with 40% of Member States exceeding their respective reduction commitments in 2020.

Efforts needed to meet national emission reduction commitments for 2020-2029

Despite an overall downward trend in emissions, further effort is required at Member State level to achieve the national emission reduction commitments set for the period 2020-2029. Fourteen Member States failed to meet their emission reduction commitments in 2020 for at least one of the five key air pollutants.

Table 1 presents the percentage reductions on 2020 emission levels required for Member States to reach their 2020-2029 and 2030 emission reduction commitments. The required reduction in emissions is calculated as the percentage difference between the 2020 reported emissions and the emission reduction commitments for 2020-2029 and for 2030 onwards.

Member States are divided into five groups:

• Member States where current emission levels fulfil their emission reduction commitment
• Member States that need to reduce emissions by up to 10%
• Member States that need to reduce emissions by 10% to less than 30%
• Member States that need to reduce emissions by 30% to less than 50%
• Member States that need to reduce emissions by more than 50%.

Table 1. EU Member States’ percentage emission reductions compared with 2020 levels to meet their emission reduction commitments for 2020-29 and 2030 onwards

Note: ¹This information is based on data provided by Member States, not yet checked by the European Commission. The numbers are subject to change in relation to the results of the NEC directive inventory review.

²The NEC directive (Article 5) establishes a process that allows Member States to ‘adjust’ their emission inventories downwards for compliance checking. This can take place when the failure to comply with the national emission reduction commitments is the result of Member States having applied improved emission inventory methods that have been updated in accordance with the latest scientific knowledge having become available since the reduction commitments were originally set. Ireland has submitted a flexibility application in 2022 for an inventory adjustment in relation to NMVOC. This application is not taken into account in this current assessment. If approved, it could bring Ireland into compliance for NMVOC.

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Ammonia

Eleven Member States will have to further reduce emissions of NH₃ to meet their 2020-2029 national emission reduction commitments. As shown in Table 1, Lithuania needs to reduce its emissions by 12% against 2020 levels, while 10 Member States need to reduce NH₃ emissions by up to 10%. The principal source of NH₃ emissions is agriculture, a sector that was less affected by the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, implying that 2020 emissions remained relatively stable.

Emissions of NH₃ contribute to the formation of PM_2.5, the main air pollutant driving premature death in EU-27 Member States. Reducing emissions of NH₃ is critical to achieving the zero pollution targets of reducing the number of premature deaths caused by air pollution by 55% and reducing by 25% the EU ecosystems where air pollution threatens biodiversity. Recognising the important contribution that agriculture makes to NH₃ emissions, Member States should include more measures applicable to the agricultural sector in their national air pollution control programmes (NAPCPs). The next submission of the revised NAPCPs is due in 2023, providing an opportunity for actions to reduce emissions of NH₃ focused on the agricultural sector, such as good practice for housing and feeding livestock, storing manure and spreading it on land, and the sustainable use of fertilisers.

Non-methane volatile organic compounds

Three Member States need to reduce their NMVOC emissions to meet their 2020-2029 national emission reduction commitments. Lithuania and Poland need to reduce emissions by up to 10%, while Ireland needs an 11% reduction.

The manufacturing and extractive industry sector is the main source of NMVOC emissions. The Commission has made a proposal for revised EU rules on industrial emissions, stressing that new technologies or production processes can reduce emissions of key air pollutants and greenhouse gases simultaneously.

Nitrogen oxides

Two Member States need to reduce their NO_x emissions to meet their 2020-2029 national emission reduction commitments. For Lithuania, these reductions represent 33% of the 2020 emission levels, while for Romania it is 4%. 

The road transport sector is largely responsible for emissions of NO_X. In 2020, the COVID-19 lockdowns led to significant declines in road traffic levels, and this may have helped Member States achieve their NO_x emission reduction commitments for 2020. This is likely to be a short-term effect only, with NO_x emissions expected to have rebounded once lockdowns ended and traffic levels increased.

Fine particulate matter

Two Member States need to reduce their PM_2.5 emissions to meet their 2020-2029 national emission reduction commitments. Romania needs to reduce its PM_2.5 emissions by 22% of 2020 levels to reach its 2020-2029 emission reduction commitment, while Hungary needs to reduce its emissions by 5%.

PM_2.5 is the air pollutant driving the most significant health problems and premature mortality, and therefore reducing emissions of PM_2.5 is critical to achieving the zero pollution target of reducing premature deaths by 55% by 2030. 

The main source of PM_2.5 emissions is energy consumption in the residential, commercial and institutional sectors. Significant emissions also result from the manufacturing and extractive industry and from road transport, including from internal combustion engines and from tyre and brake wear in conventional and electric vehicles. Given these different sources, the impact of the lockdown measures on PM_2.5 emissions was more complex than for NO_x. While emissions from traffic fell, in some regions there was an increase in PM_2.5 emissions from the domestic combustion of coal or wood for residential heating, as people spent more time at home (EEA, 2022).

Changes in the energy sector will be crucial for meeting the emission reduction commitments for PM_2.5, as burning biomass and fossil fuels for residential heating still contribute significantly to emissions in some Member States. Actions to reduce emissions include improving insulation and upgrading heating systems, installing low-emission boilers, or switching fuel types.

Sulphur dioxide

All Member States but one fulfilled their 2020-2029 national emission reduction commitments for SO₂. Cyprus needs to reduce SO₂ emissions by 45% where energy supply and use in manufacturing are the principal sources of SO₂ emissions.

Progress towards the 2030 emission reduction commitments — the path to achieving a zero pollution Europe

Looking ahead, a continuous focus on reducing emissions is required to ensure that Member States reach the more ambitious emission reduction commitments for 2030 and beyond.

All Member States, except for Belgium and Estonia, need to reduce emissions for at least one pollutant to fulfil their 2030 commitments. The greatest challenges will be to reduce emissions of NH₃, NO_X and PM_2.5.

Photo by Ricardo Gomez Angel on Unsplash

The number of Member States that had already met in 2020 their national reduction commitments for 2030 and beyond for the five key pollutants is presented in Figure 2. It also shows the number of Member States that need to reduce emission levels by up to 10%, 10% to 30%, 30% to 50%, and more than 50% compared to 2020 emissions to meet their 2030 commitments.

Figure 2. Number of Member States that met their national emissions reduction commitments for 2030 and beyond for the five key pollutants in 2020, and number of Member States that need to reduce emission levels to meet their commitments.

Note: This information is based on data provided by Member States, not yet checked by the European Commission. The numbers are subject to change in relation to the results of the NEC directive inventory review.

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Regarding NH₃ emissions, five Member States already met their 2030 emission reduction commitments in 2020. Eleven Member States need reductions of less than 10%, and an additional eleven need emissions to fall by between 10% and 30%. The Commission’s Second Clean Air Outlook concluded that the measures Member States announced in their first National Air Pollution Control Programmes will not be enough to reduce NH₃ emissions to the extent needed to meet those commitments and that further measures need to be put in place. The Commission will update its assessment of Member States’ prospects of meeting 2030 emission reduction commitments for all main pollutants in the Third Clean Air Outlook to be published by the end of 2022.

Regarding PM_2.5 emissions, seven Member States met their 2030 emission reduction commitments in 2020. Two countries, namely Hungary and Romania, will need to reduce their emissions by more than 50% of 2020 levels, while seven countries will need to reduce emissions by between 30% and 50%. Eleven Member States will need a reduction of up to 30%.

Regarding NO_X emissions in 2020, seven Member States met their emission reduction commitments for 2030, while the remaining 20 Member States will need to reduce emissions. For many Member States the reduction needed is significant: seven Member States will need to reduce 2020 emission levels by more than 30%, while Malta will need to reduce them by more than 50%. Twelve Member States will need a reduction of up to 30%.

For emissions of NMVOCs, 13 Member States met their 2030 emission reduction commitments in 2020. Four Member States need reductions of less than 10%, while 10 Member States need reductions of up to 30%.

The picture for SO₂ emissions is more positive overall. A challenge remains for Cyprus, where emission reductions of more than 50% will be needed to reach the 2030 commitment. Germany, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia will also need to reduce their emissions by up to 30%.