According to the latest data published by Eurostat on Wednesday, emissions in the EU totaled 821 million tons of CO2e in the second quarter of 2023. Compared to the amount recorded in the same period last year, emissions dropped by 5,3%.

The decline is even more impressive as it was achieved without experiencing economic contraction. The agency reported that the EU’s gross domestic product (GDP) “remained stable, registering just a very small variation of +0.05 % in the second quarter of 2023, compared with the same quarter of 2022.”

By far, the biggest decline was recorded in the electricity and gas supply with -22%. Furthermore, emissions decreased in 6 out of 9 industries while the transportation and storage sector was responsible for the highest increase, albeit tempered, with 1,7%.

Source: Eurostat, data compiled by EMBA Power

Also encouraging is the fact that 21 Member States reported decreased emissions in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the same period last year. “Of the 21 EU members that decreased their year-on-year emissions in the second quarter, ten countries (including Romania), managed to do so while growing their GDP”, noticed Reuters.

The largest reductions in greenhouse gases were registered in Bulgaria (-23.7%), Estonia (-23.1%) and the Netherlands (-10.3%) while significant increased were in Malta (+7.7%), Latvia (+4.5%) and Ireland (+3.6%).