Greenhouse gas emissions from Europe’s energy-intensive industries fell by about 42% over the past two decades, but progress has stalled and pollution continues to carry health-related costs estimated at €73 billion a year.
The findings are set out in a briefing analysing long-term trends in greenhouse gases and air pollutants from sectors including iron and steel, cement and lime, aluminium, pulp and paper, glass and clay, and chemicals, the European Environment Agency (EEA) announced on Monday.
Energy-intensive industries account for around 27% of EU industrial greenhouse gas emissions and a large share of air pollutants including sulphur oxides (SOx) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), which contribute to harmful air pollution, the EEA said.
Over the same period, air pollutant emissions fell substantially, including dioxins by 63%, nickel by 64% and NOx by 55%.
The EEA stressed that the industries’ combined gross value added (GVA) — a measure of economic output — was broadly stable over the two decades, but the sharper emissions reductions seen after 2020 coincided with a decline in GVA.
High energy use and cost pressures
These industries use more than 60% of all energy consumed across manufacturing sectors, the EEA said.
Their energy use contributed to competitiveness pressures during the EU energy crisis, alongside weak demand and global overcapacity in some sectors such as steel.
Electricity in the EU still costs two to four times as much as it does for the bloc’s main trading partners.
Further progress will depend on full implementation of existing EU environmental and climate laws and more fundamental changes in emission-intensive industrial processes.
The briefing lists pathways including electrification, alternative feedstocks and materials, and greater use of secondary raw materials — recycled inputs used in place of newly extracted resources.
