LUXEMBOURG / RankWire.AI / – Eurostat has announced that greenhouse gas emissions within the EU increased slightly by 0.3% during the first quarter of 2026. Seasonally adjusted, these emissions amounted to 837 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, up from 835 million tonnes in the previous quarter. During the same period, the European Union’s gross domestic product remained unchanged. These figures offer the latest insight into greenhouse gas outputs generated by economic activities and households across the 27-member bloc.
Compared to the first quarter of 2025, emissions declined by 1.2%, even as EU GDP grew by 0.8%, according to Eurostat data. The reported emissions include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases, all expressed in CO2-equivalent units. To facilitate accurate comparisons between periods, Eurostat adjusts the quarterly emissions data for seasonal effects. Data contributions came from the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Spain, which provided their own estimates, while Eurostat compiled estimates for the remaining European Union member states.
The most notable quarterly increase was observed in electricity, gas, steam, and air-conditioning supply, which rose by 4.8%. Emissions from water supply, sewerage, and waste management grew by 0.7%. Household emissions decreased by 1.3%, while manufacturing, construction, and transportation and storage each experienced declines of 0.6%. Manufacturing continued to be the leading contributor to total EU emissions at 20.8%, with households close behind at 20.2%. Electricity, gas, steam, and air-conditioning supply accounted for an additional 16.5% of the total emissions.
Twenty EU countries see emissions increase in Q1
In the first quarter, greenhouse gas emissions rose in 20 of the EU’s 27 member states and decreased in seven. Estonia experienced the largest increase at 9.7%, followed by Finland at 6.4% and Bulgaria at 4.6%. Eurostat attributed these rises mainly to higher emissions from construction activities and electricity, gas, steam, and air-conditioning supply. Conversely, Slovenia saw the most significant decline at 5.0%, with Luxembourg at 3.8% and Romania at 2.7% also recording reductions during the quarter.
Of the 20 countries where emissions increased, 18 also reported economic growth during the same period. Four of the seven nations that saw reductions in emissions experienced either stable or rising GDP, notably Spain, Greece, France, and Slovenia. These data offer a detailed country-level view alongside the overall EU totals, illustrating how emissions and economic output shifted across member states during the first three months of 2026.
Emissions remain below 2015 levels for the year
Eurostat’s separate annual data indicates that in 2025, the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions from the economy and households combined amounted to 3.3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent. This total was 17.2% lower than the 2015 level. The annual figures encompass all economic activities and household emissions. Despite the small quarterly increase from late 2025, the latest data shows that emissions in early 2026 still remained below their previous year’s levels.
Eurostat regularly publishes quarterly estimates of greenhouse gases, complementing economic indicators such as GDP and employment. The data classify emissions by sector and household activity, enabling cross-sector and cross-country comparisons within the EU. For Q1 2026, emissions experienced a slight uptick quarter-over-quarter, while GDP remained stable. Compared with the same quarter in 2025, emissions decreased by 1.2%, even as economic output increased by 0.8%.