Total greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union totalled 3.4 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalents in 2023, a 7% decease on the previous year and a 18% decline compared to ten years previously, according to Eurostat data.
Sector-by-sector
Businesses in nearly every sector reported a decline in emissions between 2013 and 2023, Eurostat added, with the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply sector seeing a 43% drop, to 448 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents.
Other sectors to see a notable decline in emissions over the ten-year period included mining and quarrying (-25%, 18 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents), services (-20%, 54 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents), and manufacturing (-17%, 142 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents).
There was also a 14% decline in greenhouse gas emissions by households, to 110 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents.
However, the transportation and storage sector saw its emissions increase, with 14% more emissions produced in 2023 compared to 2013.
The greenhouse gas emissions intensity in the EU decreased by 32% from 2013 to 2023. 🏭⛽️
— EU_Eurostat (@EU_Eurostat) January 13, 2025
Largest reduction in emissions in:
🇪🇪 Estonia (-61%)
🇮🇪 Ireland (-50%)
Smallest reductions in:
🇦🇹Austria & 🇱🇹Lithuania (both -17%)
🇱🇺Luxembourg (-19%)
➡️https://t.co/Q2aNdT6JOy pic.twitter.com/HMkfy41b4r
Greenhouse gas emissions intensity
Greenhouse gas emissions intensity data, which measures the amount of emissions (measured in CO2 equivalents) per unit of gross value added, decreased by 32% across the European Union overall between 2013 and 2023.
This indicates that the EU economy grew its gross value added by 19% while also reporting a reduction in emissions, Eurostat noted.
On a country-by-country basis, the largest reductions in emissions intensity were recorded in Estonia (-61%), Ireland (-50%) and Slovenia (-41%). More moderate reductions, however, were reported in Austria (-17%), Lithuania (-17%), and Luxembourg (-19%). Read more here.
Elsewhere, separate data from Eurostat indicated that renewable energy accounted for 44.7% of electricity production in the European Union in 2023, with renewables generating 1.21 million GWh. This is an increase of 12.4% on 2022, the data showed. Electricity generated from fossil fuels decreased by 19.7% in the same period.
