Greenhouse gas emissions in Europe fell by 4.0% in the first quarter of 2024

Greenhouse gas emissions were down by 4.0% in the European Union in the first quarter of this year, totalling 894 million tonnes of CO2-equivalents (CO2-eq).

This is down from 931 million tonnes of CO2-eq in the corresponding period last year.

According to Eurostat data, greenhouse gas emissions decreased in 20 EU countries, on a year-on-year basis, in the first quarter.

Decline in emissions

The largest declines were estimated in Bulgaria (-15.2%), Germany (-6.7%) and Belgium (-6.0%), with Finland (-5.8%) and Portugal (-5.8%) not far behind.

At the same time, Malta saw an 8.8% increase in emissions in the period, Lithuania was up 7.4%, Latvia saw a 5.7% increase, with Greece, Romania, Slovenia and Cyprus also seeing emissions rise.

The data shows that the economic sectors with the largest reductions in emissions were electricity and gas supply, which saw a decrease of 12.6%, and households, with a 4.4% reduction.

Emissions and GDP

Despite this significant reduction in emissions, the EU’s gross domestic product (GDP) remained relatively stable, with a modest increase of 0.3% compared to the first quarter of 2023.

Of the 20 European countries that reduced emissions, eight also experienced a decline in GDP in the first quarter. These countries include Czechia, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, and Finland. At the same time, the other 12 countries—such as Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Spain, France, and Italy—managed to reduce their emissions while achieving economic growth. The full data set can be viewed here.

Emissions decrease/increase in European Union in Q1 2024 (%)