EU economy GHG emissions down 0.4% in Q1 of 2024

21 / 08 / 2024

By Marwa Nassar - -

The EU economy greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions witnessed a 0.4% decrease in the first quarter of 2024 standing at 894 million tons of CO2 equivalents, compared to the same period in 2023.

This information comes from data on quarterly estimates for greenhouse gas emissions by economic activity published by Eurostat today.

Quarterly estimates of greenhouse gas emissions complement quarterly socio-economic data, such as GDP or employment.

In the first quarter of 2024, the economic sectors responsible for the largest reductions compared with the first quarter of 2023 were electricity and gas supply (-12.6%) and households (-4.4%).

In the first quarter of 2024, greenhouse gas emissions are estimated to have decreased in 20 EU countries, when compared with the same quarter of 2023.

The largest reductions in greenhouse gases are estimated for Bulgaria (-15.2%), Germany (-6.7%) and Belgium (-6.0%).

Out of the 20 EU members that are estimated to have decreased their emissions, 8 also recorded a decline in their GDP (Czechia, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria and Finland).

The other 12 EU countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Spain, France, Italy, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Sweden and Croatia) are estimated to have managed to decrease emissions while growing their GDP.