Flemish coalition agreement insufficient to achieve 2030 climate goals
The climate measures included in Flanders' coalition agreement are insufficient to meet the region's emission reduction target by 2030, according to an evaluation report by the Flemish Energy and Climate Agency (VEKA).
Flanders is heading for a 33.2 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 2005, while it has set itself a 40 per cent reduction target.
According to the VEKA report, total emissions in Flanders will reach 33.6 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2eq) in 2030. This is 3.4 Mt CO2eq more than its goal of 30.2 Mt CO2eq, and 17.6 Mt CO2eq more than the 47 per cent reduction that the EU has imposed on Belgium.
In particular, agriculture shows a large discrepancy of 1.9 Mt CO2eq. Energy consumption in the sector is increasing, mainly driven by greenhouse horticulture. The transport sector, meanwhile, shows an excess of 0.9 Mt CO2eq, mainly due to the slower electrification of passenger cars. Only the waste sector in Flanders is on track.
Expensive consequences
VEKA also blames the previous government for including reductions that were not sufficiently backed up by actual measures. As a result, it had to remove 0.6 Mt CO2eq of reductions from Flanders' 2023 estimate.
The report does note that many things could not be fully calculated. For example, the targeted reduction in livestock "cannot be translated into credible assumptions" about emission reductions. Measures from the coalition agreement that are "not yet sufficiently concretised" have also not been taken into account.
If Flanders and Belgium fail to meet the EU's reduction target of -47 per cent by 2030, it will have to buy carbon allowances from other countries. Since only a few countries are expected to meet their targets, the cost of doing so is likely to be high, VEKA says.
#FlandersNewsService | © BELGA PHOTO KURT DESPLENTER
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