Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in 21 EU countries recorded in the first quarter of 2023compared to the first quarter of 2022, according to Eurostat data released today.

Emissions in the first quarter of 2023 decreased in almost all EU countries compared to the first quarter of 2022, except Ireland (+9.1%), Latvia (+7.5%), Slovakia (+ 1.9%), Denmark (+1.7%) ), Sweden (+1.6%) and Finland (0.3%), where they increased. This group of EU members also saw their GDP grow.

The largest reductions in greenhouse gases were recorded in Bulgaria (-15.2%), Estonia (-14.7%) and Slovenia (-9.6%).

Fifteen EU countries (Portugal, Croatia, Belgium, Malta, France, Spain, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Romania, Italy, Cyprus, Greece, Slovenia and Bulgaria) managed to reduce emissions while increasing their GDP. Of the 21 EU countries that reduced their emissions, only 6 also reduced their GDP (Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary and Poland).

In the first quarter of 2023, the economic sectors responsible for the most greenhouse gas emissions were “households” (24%), “manufacturing” (20%), “electricity, natural gas supply” (19%), “agriculture” (13%) ), followed by “transport and storage” (10%). Eurostat figures show that, compared to the first quarter of 2022, emissions fell in 5 out of 9 economic sectors. The biggest decrease was recorded in “supply of electricity, natural gas” (-12.3%). The main sector in which emissions increased was “transport and storage” (+7.2%).

Overall in the EU, greenhouse gas emissions fell by 3% in the first quarter of 2023, compared to the same quarter in 2022.

Specifically, in the first quarter of 2023, greenhouse gas emissions of the EU economy totaled 941 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent (CO2-eq), a decrease of 2.9% compared to the same quarter of 2022 (969 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent). . This reduction coincided with a 1.2% increase in EU gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2023, compared to the same quarter in 2022.