Climate action in Estonia: Latest state of play

Briefing 24-06-2021

The EU's binding climate and energy legislation for 2030 requires Member States to adopt national energy and climate plans (NECPs) for the 2021-2030 period. In October 2020, the European Commission published an assessment for each NECP. Estonia submitted its NECP in December 2019. Estonia recovered its independence in 1991 and joined the European Union in 2004. In the 1990s, the country launched structural reforms related to its transition to a market-based economy. In 2019, its total GHG emissions amounted to 15.2 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent (MtCO2e), excluding land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) and including international aviation, generating 0.4 % of the EU-27's total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. By 2030, Estonia aims to achieve a GHG emissions reduction of 70 % compared with 1990. Its long-term target is a reduction of 80 % by 2050. The new government has set an even more ambitious target, aiming for climate neutrality by 2050. It also envisages a motivation package to help local governments reach carbon neutrality by 2030. However, Estonia's total emissions per inhabitant remained above the EU average in 2019, and the carbon intensity of its economy was one of the highest in the Union. The country's energy independence and security of supply still rely on oil shale, although between 2005 and 2019, the share of renewables in Estonia grew faster than the EU average, over-reaching the 2020 target.