The Czech environmental issue

EU sets the target of 45% of electricity from renewable sources for 2030, Czech Republic is at 17.7%

Performance and positioning of the Czech Republic on the environmental issue

The Czech Republic ranked 22nd out of 27 EU states in this year’s Index of Prosperity and Financial Health, so there was a slight improvement from the previous year (23rd place). Despite this, the Czech Republic continues to have problems in reducing greenhouse gas emissions where it falls short of the EU average and is falling further behind. Emissions from industry, for example, increased by 11 per cent year-on-year, producing 1,932 kg of greenhouse gases per inhabitant per year, thus dropping from 17th place in the 2022 emissions indicator to 19th place this year. Environment Ministry spokesperson Lucie Ješátková says that the main cause of the increase in emissions in the industry is a return to the pre-pandemic level of industrial production, with the greatest year-on-year growth occurring in the chemical and metal processing industries. However, interest in environmental and social responsibility is growing among Czech companies, which can be seen in the steadily increasing demand for experts dedicated to sustainability and data from the ‘Carbon Tracker 2022’ research, where it was found that almost half of the 150 largest Czech companies are already working on reducing their carbon footprint and decarbonising.

Table showing the percentage of companies calculating their carbon footprint.

Although companies are becoming more interested in the topic year by year, the Czech economy makes it difficult for them to make this effort, as the Czech Republic has a worse starting position than its foreign competitors when it comes to sustainability. Therefore, a transformation of the Czech economy is necessary.

How the environmental situation can be improved

Energy transformation is certainly one of the possible solutions to reduce emissions and improve air quality in the Czech Republic. Coal combustion accounts for about 40 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in the country and in this respect, the decarbonisation of the energy sector, in line with the goal of ending the use of coal by 2030, represents the greatest opportunity to reduce emissions. In fact, closing coal-fired power plants every year until 2030 and modernising the heating industry would save more than 20 million tonnes of CO2. A possible substitute for fossil fuels is the adoption of renewable energy sources that can reduce air pollution and at the same time increase the Czech Republic’s energy security and self-sufficiency.  Regarding the European Union’s target of a 45% share of electricity from renewable energy sources by 2030, the Czech Republic is lagging behind with a share of 17.7% in contrast to the 2021 target of 21.8%. In general, the Czech Republic’s strategy should be a combination of value addition, energy efficiency and energy self-sufficiency or diversification of energy imports. Not only companies but also households have the opportunity to significantly reduce their energy costs by investing in energy self-sufficiency, as in 2021 only 10% had a heat pump, 5% a solar thermal system, and 2% photovoltaics.

A plus point for RC

In the Czech Republic, the year-on-year percentage of re-used waste increased by 3 percentage points to 43% and is currently the 13th highest share of recycled waste in the EU. However, recycling cannot be the only solution as it also involves the use of resources and energy, and therefore the amount of waste produced should also be reduced.

In spite of the not particularly optimistic and proactive data, the Czech Republic still has a chance to reach the EU target for the year 2030 and should seize the opportunity during this year’s climate and energy policy update to create a plan to double the share of renewables in the Czech energy mix. Banks are also ready to finance renewables.

Source: https://www.kurzy.cz/

Graphic Source: https://storyset.com/

Source of image: https://pixabay.com/