Source: European Parliament
Croatia does not set its own national climate targets, but has emissions reduction obligations under EU law, and contributes to the EU-wide target of reaching climate neutrality by 2050 (see trajectory in Figure 1). Croatia accounts for 0.62 % of the EU’s net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and has reduced its net emissions by 19.5 % from 2005 to 2023, compared with an average EU reduction of 30.5 % over the same period. The country’s land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector is a significant but declining carbon sink. Emissions from sectors under the EU emissions trading system (ETS) were reduced by 51.6 %. For the effort-sharing sectors, Croatia remained within emissions allocations from 2013 to 2020. Although slightly exceeding allocations in 2022, and at the limit in 2023, the country projects that it will achieve its 2030 obligation. In August 2023, Croatia proposed to add a REPowerEU chapter to its recovery and resilience plan, comprising significant climate spending. Croatia submitted a draft updated national energy and climate plan (NECP) on 4 July 2023. The European Commission assessed it and made recommendations for Croatia’s final updated NECP, overdue since June 2024. In a 2023 survey, 42 % of Croatians, compared with an EU average of 46 %, identified climate change to be one of the four most serious problems facing the world. Most expect the EU (53 %) and national government (50 %) to tackle climate change, while 26 % find it to be a personal responsibility. This briefing is one in a series covering all EU Member States.