Bulgaria reported the biggest decrease in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of all EU countries in the second quarter of 2023, reporting a 23.7% decline in emissions on a year-on-year basis.
This is on top of a 15.7% decrease in the first quarter of the year.
Estonia, which reported a 23.1% decline in GHG emissions, and the Netherlands, which reported a 10.3% decline in emissions, were the only other EU countries to report a double-digit decline, according to the Eurostat data.
Notable declines were also reported, however, in Czechia (-8.2%), Poland (-7.8%), Slovenia (-7.4%), Romania (-7.2%) and Germany (-6.8%).
In total, GHG emissions decreased in 21 European countries, compared with the same period last year.
In the second quarter, EU GHG emissions totalled 821 million tonnes of CO2-equivalents (CO2-eq), a -5.3% decrease compared with the same quarter last year (867 million tonnes of CO2-eq).
Increases were registered, however, in Malta (+7.7%), Latvia (+4.5%), Ireland (+3.6%), Lithuania (+3.0%), Cyprus (+1.7%) and Croatia (+1.0%), the data showed.
In the second quarter of 2023, the primary contributors to greenhouse gas emissions were the manufacturing sector (23.5%), households (17.9%), electricity and gas supply (15.5%), agriculture (14.3%), and transportation and storage (12.8%).
The most significant reduction occurred in the energy (electricity and gas supply) sector, showing a decrease of 22.0%. Conversely, the transportation and storage sector experienced a modest increase of 1.7%, marking the main area where emissions rose during this period.
| Country | GHG Emissions Reduction (%) |
|---|---|
| Bulgaria | -23.7% |
| Estonia | -23.1% |
| Netherlands | -10.3% |
| Czechia | -8.2% |
| Poland | -7.8% |
| Slovenia | -7.4% |
| Romania | -7.2% |
| Germany | -6.8% |
| Finland | -5.9% |
| Hungary | -5.4% |
| European Union – 27 countries | -5.3% |
| Italy | -5.1% |
| Spain | -4.3% |
| Portugal | -3.9% |
| Denmark | -3.5% |
| Luxembourg | -3.3% |
| Austria | -2.1% |
| France | -2.0% |
| Belgium | -1.4% |
| Sweden | -0.9% |
| Greece | -0.8% |
| Slovakia | -0.2% |
| Croatia | 1.0% |
| Cyprus | 1.7% |
| Lithuania | 3.0% |
| Ireland | 3.6% |
| Latvia | 4.5% |
| Malta | 7.7% |
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