Quantification of the carbon intensity of electricity produced and used in Europe

Abstract

The EU has a comprehensive legislation to facilitate the energy transition towards a low carbon energy system and achieve the EU’s Paris Agreement commitments for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The European Green Deal is an integral part of the EU strategy for a sustainable and climate neutral economy by 2050. The decarbonisation of the power generation is essential to achieve the goal of decarbonising the energy and transport sectors. This paper presents a study conducted to quantify the carbon emissions associated to the production of electricity produced and used in European countries, based on a comprehensive methodology developed for this purpose. A spreadsheet model has been developed that considers the various sources for electricity generation, the type of plants, conversion efficiencies, upstream emissions and emissions from power plant construction, as well as the electricity trade. The results show the greenhouse gas emissions from the production and use of electricity in all European countries, revealing significant variations between countries. The carbon intensity of electricity shows a clear reduction trend since 1990, for most of the European countries. In the European Union, carbon intensity of electricity used at low voltage degreased from 641 gCO2eq/kWh in 1990 to 334 gCO2eq/kWh in 2019, and this trend is expected to continue in the coming years.