LUXEMBOURG / EuroWire / – EU greenhouse gas emissions from the economy and households fell 17.2% between 2015 and 2025, reaching an estimated 3.3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent last year. The latest Eurostat estimate covers all economic activities and households across the European Union. The decline came as EU gross domestic product rose 17.5% over the same decade.
The figures show a broad fall in emissions across most major parts of the economy. Energy supply recorded the largest drop, with emissions down 45.3% from 2015. Mining and quarrying fell 33.3%. Manufacturing emissions dropped 16.0%, while household emissions fell 14.7%. Services recorded an 11.9% decline.
Other sectors also cut greenhouse gas emissions, though at a slower pace. Agriculture, forestry and fishing fell 5.9%. Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities fell 2.6%. The data also showed two areas moving higher. Construction emissions rose 11.4%, while transportation and storage increased 10.9%.
Energy sector leads decline
The country data showed emissions fell in 23 EU member states between 2015 and 2025. Four countries recorded increases over the period. Malta posted the largest rise, at 169.4%. Cyprus increased 10.7%, Lithuania rose 9.5%, and Romania climbed 5.4%. The figures cover greenhouse gas emissions linked to countries’ economies and households.
Estonia recorded the largest decline among EU countries, with emissions down 41.7% from 2015. Finland followed with a 30.7% fall. Germany recorded a 27.3% drop. Eurostat said every EU country recorded gross domestic product growth during the same period, even as most economies reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
Most EU countries cut emissions
The 2025 figures are early estimates and carry a higher estimation error than the previous annual method. The estimate uses quarterly air emissions accounts by economic activity. It provides an earlier first reading than the prior method. Eurostat said it will revise the 2025 estimate in August.
The greenhouse gases covered include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases. The data express those gases in CO2 equivalent terms. The approach assigns emissions to countries based on the residence of economic units. That method differs from the territorial approach used for some international climate reporting. Under European climate law, the EU has set targets to cut net emissions by 55% by 2030, by 90% by 2040, and to reach climate neutrality by 2050.