In 2016, the EU collectively continued to decouple economic growth and greenhouse gas emissions, with the economy growing by 1.9% while a slight decrease of 0.4% is estimated in CO2 emissions, according to provisional figures published by Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office on Thursday 4 May.
However, in all, only eleven member states – Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Romania and United Kingdom – recorded a fall in their emissions from fossil fuel combustion.
The largest falls were in Malta (18.2%), Bulgaria (7%), Portugal (5.7%) and United Kingdom (4.8%).
The largest increases were recorded in Finland and Cyprus which, last year, saw rises of 8.5% and 7% respectively). Thereafter came Slovenia (up 5.8%) and Denmark (up 5.7%).
Early estimates of CO2 emissions from energy use are computed by Eurostat based on monthly energy statistics and using a harmonised methodology. They do not include CO2 emissions resulting from the combustion of non-renewable waste, Eurostat indicates. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)