Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the European Union economy reached 881 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in the third quarter of 2021, coming very close to their pre-Covid-19 level, according to data released by Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office, on Tuesday 15 February.
Before falling as a result of the Covid-19 economic downturn, EU emissions stood at 891 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in the third quarter of 2019.
Eurostat data show that the economic recovery in 2021 was accompanied by an increase in emissions. These increased by 6% in the third quarter of 2021 compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
Nevertheless, “the long-term trend in EU greenhouse gas emissions shows a steady reduction towards the EU targets”, notes Eurostat.
In terms of the breakdown by economic sector, the manufacturing industry accounted for the largest share of EU emissions (23% of the total), followed by electricity supply (21%) and households and agriculture (14% each).
At Member State level, emissions in the third quarter of 2021 increased particularly in Bulgaria (+22.7%), Latvia (+16.2%) and Greece (+13.1%). In contrast, they decreased in Slovenia (-2.6% compared to the same quarter of 2020), Luxembourg (-2.3%) and the Netherlands (-1.6%).
See the data: https://aeur.eu/f/c1 (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)