EU economy greenhouse emssion reached 854 million tons of CO2-equivalents in Q3 of 2022. This increase can be attributed to the economic recovery brought by the increase in gross domestic product (GDP) following a period of significant decline in activity during the COVID-19 crisis.

However, in comparison to the pre-pandemic Q3 of 2019, the greenhouse gas emissions of the EU economy declined from 889 to 854 million tons of CO2-eq, indicating a 4% difference.

Eurostat released data on February 15th regarding quarterly estimates of greenhouse gas emissions by economic activity, which showed slightly stronger growth in Q3 of 2022 than greenhouse gas emissions did in comparison to Q3 of 2021 (greenhouse gas emissions increased by 2% and GDP increased by 3%).

Despite emissions increasing in 16 of the 27 EU member states in Q3 of 2022 compared to Q3 of 2021, there were some countries that managed to reduce their emissions while still experiencing an increase in GDP. For instance, Ireland showed a 17% increase in emissions, while Estonia and Malta both experienced an +8% increase. However, Lithuania demonstrated the largest reduction in emissions at 6%, followed by Slovakia and the Netherlands which both showed a -5% decrease.

This article on quarterly greenhouse emission provides an in depth overview of the study conducted by Eurostat.