(29 May 2013) – Eurostat estimates that in 2012 carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuel combustion decreased by 2.1% in the EU27, compared with the previous year, after a fall of 4.1% in 2011.
CO2 emissions are a major contributor to global warming and account for around 80% of all EU greenhouse gas emissions. They are influenced by factors such as climate conditions, economic growth, size of the population, transport and industrial activities, while various EU energy efficiency initiatives aim to reduce emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases.
In 2012, the Member State with the highest level of CO2 emissions in absolute terms was Germany (728 million tons), followed by the United Kingdom (472 mn tons), Italy (366 mn tons), France (332 mn tons), Poland (297 mn tons) and Spain (258 mn tons). These six Member States accounted together for more than 70% of total EU27 CO2 emissions in 2012.
Eurostat estimates that from 2011 to 2012 CO2 emissions decreased in nearly all Member States, except Malta (+6.3%), the United Kingdom (+3.9%), Lithuania (+1.7%) and Germany (+0.9%). The largest decreases were recorded in Belgium and Finland (both -11.8%), Sweden (-10.1%), Denmark (-9.4%), Cyprus (-8.5%), Bulgaria (-6.9%), Slovakia (-6.5%), the Czech Republic (-5.2%), Italy and Poland (both -5.1%).