Road traffic CO₂ emissions in the Netherlands fell to 26.6 billion kilograms last year, a 1.6% decline compared to 2024, new data from Statistics Netherlands (CBS) has found.
This was the first decline in road-traffic CO₂ emissions since the pandemic-related reductions recorded in 2020 and 2021, it added. Compared to 2015, i.e. ten years earlier, road traffic emissions were down 2.2%.
Traffic emissions
Passenger cars accounted for almost 58% of total road-traffic emissions, producing 15.36 billion kilograms of CO₂ in 2025. This was 1.9% lower than in 2024 and 9.1% below the 16.89 billion kilograms recorded in 2015.
The reduction in passenger-car emissions occurred despite an increase in kilometres travelled (+0.6%). This was partly due to an increase in kilometres driven by fully-electric vehicles, CBS noted. Fully electric cars accounted for 7.4% of passenger cars in the Netherlands in 2025.
Elsewhere, light and heavy commercial vehicles together accounted for almost 40% of road-traffic CO₂ emissions in 2025. Their combined emissions were lower than in 2024, but remained above the 2015 level. Light commercial vehicle emissions were 1.7% lower than in 2024, while heavy commercial vehicle emissions fell by 0.9%.
Compared with 2015, however, emissions from light commercial vehicles were 14.2% higher, while heavy commercial vehicle emissions were 11.6% higher. This was largely due to increased mileage – commercial vehicles travelled 14.6% more kilometres in 2025 than in 2015.
Public transport
In terms of public transport, meanwhile, buses recorded a much larger long-term decline, CBS noted. Their emissions fell by 3.5% in 2025 compared with 2024 and were 39.9% lower than in 2015. Fully electric vehicles represented 26.9% of buses in 2025.
Motorcycles and mopeds also recorded reductions. Vehicles with moped licence plates emitted 47 million kilograms of CO₂ in 2025, compared with 83 million kilograms in 2015. Read more here.
