EU greenhouse gas emissions fell by 1.6% in 2025 as the bloc added more wind and solar power and battery-electric car sales rose.

The European Commission published its 2026 EU Climate Action Progress Report and Carbon Market Report on Monday, setting out provisional emissions data for 2025 and updates on how the EU’s carbon market is performing.

Net emissions were 39% below 1990 levels, while the EU economy has grown by 74% over the same period, the Commission informed.

Emissions covered by the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) — a cap-and-trade scheme that requires big polluters to buy allowances for their emissions — fell by around 2% in 2025.

The Commission said emissions in sectors covered by the Effort Sharing Regulation — including domestic transport, buildings, agriculture and waste — were broadly stable in 2025.

It stated that emissions in these sectors are expected to fall by around 38.5% by 2030 compared with 2005, slightly below the EU-wide target of 40%.

Nine member states are not making sufficient progress towards meeting their 2030 Effort Sharing targets and will be asked to submit corrective action plans, the Commission pointed out.

Clean technology growth and carbon market revenues

Registrations of battery-electric cars increased to 1.9 million in 2025, roughly one in six new car registrations, according to the Commission.

EU wind and solar capacity rose to 611 GW, about 49% of total electricity generation capacity, while an estimated 41 GW of additional heat pump capacity was installed in 2025, up from 26 GW in 2024.

Revenue from the EU ETS reached €43.2 billion in 2025, up 11% from 2024, the Commission said.

More than half of that — €23.9 billion — went directly to member states to finance decarbonisation measures for households and industry.

Industrial emissions covered by the ETS fell by 3.3% from 2024, driven mostly by the iron and steel, cement and chemical sectors.

Maritime transport emissions decreased by 4% while aviation emissions increased by 0.2%.

Provisional data show net carbon removals from the land sector increased by around 11% in 2025 compared with 2024, but current projections indicate a gap of 40 – 55 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent towards the EU’s 2030 land-use target.

The EU set a legally binding target this year to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2040 compared with 1990 levels, following the entry into force of an amended European Climate Law in April 2026.