In the first quarter of 2023, greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union reached a total of 948 million tons of CO2 equivalent (CO2 eq), indicating a decrease of 2.9% compared to the same period in 2022, when emissions stood at 969 million tons CO2 eq. However, it’s important to remember that emissions were slightly lower in the last quarter of 2022, totaling 942 million tons CO2 eq. Therefore, when comparing quarter to quarter, there has been a minor increase.

Furthermore, even though absolute value reductions are promising, it’s important to remember that the European economy is still grappling with significant inflation and a downturn in the industry (especially PMI), both of which have a substantial impact on greenhouse gas emissions. We are eagerly awaiting the results of the next quarter. Time is needed to verify whether this improvement in results will be long-lasting and repeatable in the upcoming periods.

Emission in sectors:

During the first quarter of 2023, the economy sectors responsible for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions were:

👉🏻 households (24%), 

👉🏻 manufacturing (20%), 

👉🏻 electricity, gas supply (19%), 

👉🏻 agriculture (13%), 

👉🏻 transport and storage (10%)

👉🏻 services (7%).

Let’s examine the dynamics in individual sectors:

Sectors:	Q1 2023	Q1 2022	Growth
Households	228,1	234	-2,5%
Manufacturing	192	197,2	-2,6%
Electricity, gas supply	175,5	200,1	-12,3%
Agriculture	117,9	118,4	-0,4%
Transport and storage	96,5	90	7,2%
Services (excel transportation and storage)	66	64,8	1,9%
Water supply	38,5	38,6	-0,3%
Construction	13,4	13,2	1,5%
Mining and quarrying	12,9	12,7	1,6%

The data indicates that compared to the first quarter of 2022, emissions decreased in 5 out of 9 economic sectors.

The most significant decrease was observed in the sector of electricity and gas supply (-12.3%).

On the other hand, the sector with the strongest emission growth was transport and storage (+7.2%). At this point, we encourage all transport companies to collaborate with Ecobal to offset their excessive emissions through the use of ECO units.

Greenhouse gas emissions down in 21 EU countries 

Emissions in the first quarter of 2023 decreased in almost all EU countries when compared with the first quarter of 2022, except for Ireland (+9.1%), Latvia (+7.5%), Slovakia (+1.9%), Denmark (+1.7%) Sweden (+1.6%) and Finland (0.3%), where they increased.

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

The above-mentioned figures are based on data presented by the European Statistical Office (Eurostat): https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20230816-1

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