Brussels, 03/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 3 May, the EU's statistical office (Eurostat) published a report in which it estimates that in 2015 carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuel combustion increased by 0.7% in the European Union (EU), compared with the previous year. According to Eurostat estimates, this increase in emissions last year was observed in a majority of member states, with the highest increases being recorded in Slovakia (+9.5%), Portugal (+8.6%) and Hungary (+6.7%), followed by Belgium (+4.7%) and Bulgaria (+4.6%). Decreases were registered in eight Member States, notably in Malta (-26.9%), Estonia (-16.0%), Denmark (-9.9%), Finland (-7.4%) and Greece (-5.0%). Eurostat is currently analysing data for Sweden.
In 2015, Germany (23%); the United Kingdom (12.5%) and Italy (10.6%) were the trio of countries with the highest CO2 emissions in the European Union.
CO2 emissions significantly contribute to global warming and account for around 80% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the EU. They are influenced by factors such as climate conditions, economic growth, population size, transport and industrial activity.
It should also be pointed out that imports and exports of energy products have an impact on CO2 emissions in the countries were fossil fuels are burned. For example, imported coal leads to an increase in emissions, whilst imported electricity does not have a direct effect on the emissions of the importer countries but affects the export a country in which it was produced. (Original version in French by Maëlle Didion)