Greenhouse gas emissions in the EU fell by 0.4% y/y in Q2

The European Union (EU) economy reduced greenhouse gas emissions in the second quarter of 2025 by 0.4% compared to the same period in 2024, to 772 million tons of CO2 equivalent. This is evidenced by Eurostat’s quarterly data.

At the same time, EU GDP grew by 1.3% year-on-year during this period, indicating a further divergence between economic growth and environmental impact.

The main contribution to the decline came from sectors such as electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply (-2.9% y/y), manufacturing (-0.4%), and transport and storage (-0.4%). At the same time, household emissions, on the contrary, increased by 1% y/y, which is partly attributed to the seasonal increase in energy consumption and population mobility.

A decrease in emissions was recorded in 12 EU countries, while 14 member states saw an increase, and Estonia remained stable. The largest reductions were recorded in Slovenia (-8.6% y/y), the Netherlands (-5.9%), and Finland (-4.2%).

Among the countries that reduced emissions, only three simultaneously showed a decline in GDP: Finland, Germany, and Luxembourg. The remaining nine (Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia, and Sweden) were able to combine economic growth with a reduction in emissions.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, greenhouse gas emissions increased by 2.2% compared to the same period in 2023, reaching 897 million tons (CO2 equivalent). During the same period, EU GDP grew by 1.5% year-on-year. The largest increase in emissions was recorded in the energy and gas supply sector (+4.6% year-on-year) and households (+5.2% year-on-year).