Cyprus recorded the highest per capita greenhouse gas footprint in the European Union in 2023, with 14.8 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalents per inhabitant, according to data published by the European Statistical Office (Eurostat) on Thursday.
It was followed by Ireland with 14.0 tonnes and Luxembourg with 12.7 tonnes per capita. In contrast, Eurostat reports that the lowest footprints were recorded in Portugal (6.5 tonnes), Bulgaria (6.8 tonnes), and Sweden and Romania (6.9 tonnes each).
At EU level, in 2023 the greenhouse gas footprint of goods and services consumed amounted to 9.0 tonnes of CO2 equivalents per capita, down by around 1 tonne compared with 2022. According to Eurostat, this indicator accounts for emissions generated along the entire production chain of products consumed in the EU, regardless of where they occur, and therefore includes emissions embedded in imported goods and services.
Overall, the greenhouse gas footprint from consumption in the EU reached 4.0 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalents in 2023, while emissions generated by production within the EU amounted to 3.3 billion tonnes.
Between 2013 and 2023, consumption-based emissions decreased by 12.9% and production-based emissions by 18.6%. Eurostat notes that in 2020 there was a sharp decline due to the pandemic, while by 2023 consumption-related emissions had returned to 2020 levels, whereas production-based emissions had further decreased by 3.5%.
CNA