Brussels, Feb. 15, (dpa/GNA) - Greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union rose by 2% in the third quarter of 2022 compared to the same period of the previous year, according to Eurostat, the EU’s statistics office.
The EU’s 27 member states emitted 854 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalents in the third quarter of 2022, up from 836 million tons in the same quarter in 2021, and 815 million tons in 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic first hit the bloc, Eurostat reported on Wednesday.
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.
Emissions generally fell during the height of the pandemic due to lockdowns limiting travel and business activity.
The industries responsible for the most climate-damaging emissions in the third quarter of 2022 were manufacturing, with a share of 23% of the bloc’s overall emissions, followed by electricity and gas supply (21%) and households and agriculture (14% each).
Sixteen out of 27 EU countries reported an increase in emissions, with Ireland (+17%), Estonia and Malta (+8% each) registering the biggest changes.
Lithuania (-6%), Slovakia and the Netherlands (-5%) reported the biggest decreases in the year-to-year comparison.
The latest figure of 854 million tons remains 4% below pre-pandemic levels when EU countries emitted 889 million tons in the third quarter of 2019.
Eurostat previously reported an increase in climate-damaging emissions compared to pre-pandemic levels when emissions in the final quarter of 2021 surpassed those of the fourth quarter of 2019.
GNA