VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Malta is among nine European Union member states at risk of failing to meet their greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets for 2030, according to a European Commission report.
The report warns that Malta, Germany and Ireland face the largest projected shortfalls before taking into account flexibility measures available under EU rules.
It also highlights that Malta is projected to emit more greenhouse gases in 2030 than it did in 2005, raising concerns about the country’s progress towards its climate commitments.
The European Commission said it would ask the nine countries to submit corrective action plans outlining measures and investments needed to accelerate emissions reductions.
The other countries at risk of missing their 2030 targets are Austria, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania and Sweden, alongside Malta.
European Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra will write to the countries, giving them three months to submit plans setting out how they intend to get back on track.
The findings were published in a report assessing EU member states‘ progress in implementing national plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, released as the United Nations COP31 climate summit opened in Turkey.
The assessment also found that Italy, Croatia and Cyprus had already exceeded their emissions targets for the 2021-2025 period.
Bulgaria, Greece and Portugal, meanwhile, are projected to outperform their 2030 targets by the largest margins.
Across the EU, net greenhouse gas emissions fell by 1.6 per cent last year compared with 2024, according to provisional figures released by Brussels.
The bloc’s emissions are now 39 per cent below 1990 levels.
The EU has committed to reducing emissions by 90 per cent by 2040 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
However, environmental organisations have criticised the bloc for weakening climate regulations affecting businesses over the past two years, arguing that the changes risk undermining its climate ambitions.
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