Brussels, May 16, (dpa/GNA) - Greenhouse gas emissions from economic activities in the European Union are now slightly higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic, the EU’s statistics office, Eurostat, reported on Monday.
Economic greenhouse gas emissions totalled 1,041 million tons of CO2 equivalents in the fourth quarter of 2021, up from 1,005 million tonnes in the same period in 2019.
CO2 equivalents are a metric to compare emissions of different greenhouse gases on the basis of their global warming potential with that of carbon dioxide (CO2).
Emissions generated by individual households were responsible for 22% of greenhouse gas emissions in the fourth quarter of 2021, manufacturing and electricity each caused 21%, and agriculture 12%.
Greenhouse gas emissions increased in all EU countries in late 2021, compared with the same period in 2020, when Europe’s economy was badly hit by the pandemic.
The strongest year-to-year increases were registered in Estonia with 28%, followed by Bulgaria (+27%) and Malta (+23%), where the recent increases outweighed decreases caused by the pandemic.
Under the so-called European Green Deal, EU member states aim to cut their net greenhouse gas emission by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990-levels.
GNA