European Union member states emitted 1.029 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in the first quarter of this year. This is six percent more than in the same period of the previous year, but less than in the first quarter of 2019.
Most greenhouse gases in Bulgaria
Bulgaria has seen the largest increase in greenhouse gas emissions, up around 38 percent year-on-year. By contrast, the smallest increase in emissions was in Luxembourg, by less than one per cent. However, Finland and the Netherlands even showed year-on-year declines of one and nine per cent respectively, according to the latest Eurostat data.
Emissions in the European Union
Households are the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for 24 per cent. The energy sector follows with 21 percent, while the manufacturing industry contributes one-fifth of emissions. However, according to Eurostat, greenhouse gas emissions have increased in all sectors of the EU economy except households. They emitted about the same volume of emissions in the first quarter of this year as they did from January to March in 2021. In view of the ongoing war in Ukraine, some EU countries are considering a temporary increase in coal use to mitigate the impact of the energy crisis.
