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EU carbon market emissions excluding aviation fell 12.6% in 2020

by Reuters
Thursday, 1 April 2021 11:53 GMT

ARCHIVE PICTURE: Steam rises from Neurath lignite power plant, in Grevenbroich, Germany, January 16, 2020. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

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Almost half of the EU's greenhouse gas output is regulated under a scheme which charges firms for the right to emit

By Susanna Twidale

LONDON, April 1 (Reuters) - Greenhouse gas emissions regulated under Europe's carbon market excluding aviation fell 12.6% last year, European Commission data examined by carbon analysts at Refinitiv showed.

Around 45% of the European Union's output of greenhouse gases is regulated by the Emissions Trading System (ETS), the bloc's flagship policy to tackle global warming by charging for the right to emit carbon dioxide (CO2).

The Refinitiv carbon analysts' interpretation of the data found stationary emissions covered by the scheme such as power plants and factories totalled 1.339 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent (CO2e), down 12.6% on the previous year.

Emissions from power and heating generation fell by 17.1%, to 632.8 million tonnes, the analysts said on Thursday.

(Reporting By Susanna Twidale; editing by Nina Chestney and Steve Orlofsky)

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