Greenhouse gas emissions from the EU’s economy and households fell to an estimated 3.3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2025, down 17.2% from 2015.
The estimate covers all economic activities and households combined, and uses “CO2 equivalent” — a standard measure that compares different greenhouse gases by converting them to the amount of carbon dioxide with the same warming effect, Eurostat noted in its release on Tuesday.
The figures are early estimates for 2025, published for the first time six months after the end of the reference year.
Emissions from the energy sector — including the supply of electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning — were 45.3% lower than in 2015. Mining and quarrying emissions fell by 33.3% over the same period.
Manufacturing emissions declined by 16.0%, while household emissions fell by 14.7% and services by 11.9%.
Agriculture, forestry and fishing emissions dropped by 5.9%, while emissions linked to water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities fell by 2.6%.
Emissions increased in two sectors: construction was up 11.4% compared with 2015, and transportation and storage rose by 10.9%.
Emissions fell in most EU countries
Greenhouse gas emissions decreased between 2015 and 2025 in 23 EU countries and increased in four, according to Eurostat’s estimates.
The largest estimated reductions were in Estonia (down 41.7%), Finland (down 30.7%) and Germany (down 27.3%).
The biggest estimated increases were in Malta (up 169.4%), Cyprus (up 10.7%), Lithuania (up 9.5%) and Romania (up 5.4%).
All EU countries recorded an increase in gross domestic product over the same period, and the EU as a whole saw GDP rise by 17.5%.
