EU greenhouse gas emissions edged up by 0.3% in the first quarter of 2026 to an estimated 837 million tonnes of CO2-equivalents, while the bloc’s economy showed no growth over the same period.
The estimate compares with 835 million tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2025, using seasonally adjusted data, Eurostat reported on Friday.
CO2-equivalents is a standard measure that converts different greenhouse gases into the amount of carbon dioxide with the same warming effect.
Emissions rose most in the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply sector, up 4.8% from the previous quarter.
The biggest decreases were recorded for households, down 1.3%, while manufacturing and transportation and storage both fell 0.6%.
Compared with the first quarter of 2025, emissions fell by 1.2% while EU GDP increased by 0.8%.
Most EU countries recorded higher emissions
Emissions increased in 20 EU countries and fell in seven in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the previous quarter, based on seasonally adjusted estimates, Eurostat said.
The largest declines were estimated in Slovenia ( - 5.0%), Luxembourg ( - 3.8%) and Romania ( - 2.7%).
The biggest increases were in Estonia (+9.7%), Finland (+6.4%) and Bulgaria (+4.6%).
The rises in Estonia, Finland and Bulgaria were largely linked to higher emissions from economic producers in construction and in electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply.
Across the bloc, 18 of the 20 countries with rising emissions also recorded higher GDP, while four of the seven countries that cut emissions had higher or unchanged GDP.
