Greenhouse gas emissions in the EU rose by 1.1% q/q in Q3

In the third quarter of 2025, greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union economy increased by 1.1% quarter-on-quarter to 828 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent. At the same time, EU GDP rose by 0.4% quarter-on-quarter, indicating continued economic recovery despite the growing environmental burden. This is stated in a report by Eurostat.

The largest increase in emissions was recorded in households (+3.6% quarter-on-quarter) and industry (+1.4% quarter-on-quarter). The only sector where the indicator declined was electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning production (-0.8% quarter-on-quarter).

Compared to the same period in 2024, overall emissions remained unchanged, while the EU economy grew by 1.6%. This indicates a gradual decoupling of economic growth and emissions in the longer term.

In the third quarter, emissions increased in 17 EU countries and decreased in 10. The largest declines were recorded in Estonia (-17.4% q/q), Slovenia (-5.7% q/q), and Cyprus (-5.2% q/q). At the same time, most of the countries that reduced emissions were able to maintain or even increase their GDP, confirming the effectiveness of climate policy without losing economic activity.

The EU continues to move towards its climate goals – reducing emissions by 55% by 2030 and achieving climate neutrality by 2050 – but current data show the complexity of combining economic growth with rapid decarbonisation of industry.

In the second quarter of 2025, the EU reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 0.4% compared to the same period in 2024, to 772 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent. 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.