Quantification of carbon intensity of electricity produced and used in Europe

The EU has a comprehensive legislation to facilitate the energy transition toward a low carbon energy system and to 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 sector. Electrification is also at the core of the vision for decarbonising transport, and reducing pollution in cities. However, the actual contribution of electricity to decarbonising transport depends on the carbon intensity of the used electricity. The GHG emissions resulting from the production of electricity in different countries have very large variations, depending on the electricity mix used at national level, and the import/export balance. This paper presents the methodology developed to estimate the carbon intensity of electricity produced and used in European countries. It considers the various sources for electricity generation, per type of plant, conversion efficiencies as well as the effect of trade including also the upstream emissions and the emissions from the construction of the power plants. The results show a reduction trend in the carbon intensities between 1990 and 2019 that is expected to continue in the coming years.

SCARLAT Nicolae;  PRUSSI Matteo;  PADELLA Monica; 

2021-10-08

ELSEVIER SCI LTD

JRC124869

0306-2619 (online),   

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261921012149?via%3Dihub,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC124869,   

10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.117901 (online),