Home breadcru News breadcru Sustainability breadcru EU cuts GHG emissions by 5.3% in Q2 2023

EU cuts GHG emissions by 5.3% in Q2 2023

23 Nov '23
2 min read
Pic: Eurostat
Pic: Eurostat

Insights

  • In Q2 2023, the EU's GHG emissions fell to 821 million tonnes CO2-eq.
  • Despite this, the EU's gross domestic product remained stable with a minimal 0.05 per cent change.
  • Manufacturing and gas supply were major emission contributors.
  • While Malta, Latvia, Ireland, Lithuania, Cyprus, and Croatia had increased emissions, 21 EU countries saw reduced emissions.
In the second quarter (Q2) of 2023, the European Union’s (EU) economy greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions totalled 821 million tonnes of CO2-equivalents (CO2-eq), a -5.3 per cent decrease compared with the same quarter of 2022—867 million tonnes of CO2-eq. In the same period, the EU’s gross domestic product (GDP) remained stable registering just a very small variation—0.05 per cent in Q2 2023, compared with the same quarter of 2022.

The economic sectors responsible for most GHG emissions included manufacturing at 23.5 per cent and gas supply at 15.5 per cent in Q2 2023, according to Eurostat.

Compared with Q2 2022, emissions decreased in 6 out of 9 economic sectors. The biggest decrease was registered in ‘electricity, gas supply’ at -22.0 per cent.

In Q2 2023, GHG emissions decreased in 21 EU countries, when compared with Q2 2022. Increases were registered in Malta at 7.7 per cent, Latvia at 4.5 per cent, Ireland at 3.6 per cent, Lithuania at 3.0 per cent, Cyprus at 1.7 per cent, and Croatia at 1.0 per cent. Among these six EU members, four had a GDP increase—Malta at 3.9 per cent, Croatia at 2.6 per cent, Cyprus at 2.2 per cent, and Lithuania at 0.7 per cent.

The largest reductions in GHG gases were registered in Bulgaria at -23.7 per cent, Estonia at -23.1 per cent, and the Netherlands at -10.3 per cent.

Out of the 21 EU members that decreased their emissions, 10 recorded a decline in their GDP—Estonia, Hungary, Luxembourg, Sweden, Austria, Czechia, Poland, Finland, Germany, and the Netherlands. Italy maintained its GDP at the same level as Q2 2022 and decreased its GHG emissions. Ten EU countries—Denmark, France, Belgium, Slovenia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Portugal, Spain, Romania, and Greece—managed to decrease emissions while growing their GDP.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (NB)

Get Free Weekly Market Insights Newsletter

Receive daily prices and market insights straight to your inbox. Subscribe to AlchemPro Weekly!