site.btaBulgaria Leads EU in Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction in Q1, 2024

In the first quarter of 2024, the EU economy greenhouse gas emissions were estimated at 894 million tonnes of CO2-equivalents, a 4% decrease compared with the same quarter of 2023 (931 million tonnes of CO2-eq), Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Commission (Eurostat) reported on July 11.

The EU’s gross domestic product (GDP) remained stable, registering a small increase (0.3% in the first quarter of 2024, compared with the same quarter of 2023).

In the first quarter of 2024, the economic sectors responsible for the largest reductions compared with the first quarter of 2023 were electricity and gas supply (-12.6%) and households (-4.4%).

In the first quarter of 2024, greenhouse gas emissions are estimated to have decreased in 20 EU countries, when compared with the same quarter of 2023. 

The largest reductions in greenhouse gases are estimated for Bulgaria (-15.2%), Germany (-6.7%) and Belgium (-6.0%).

Out of the 20 EU members that are estimated to have decreased their emissions, 8 also registered a decline in their GDP (Czechia, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria and Finland). The other 12 EU countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Spain, France, Italy, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Sweden and Croatia) are estimated to have managed to decrease emissions while growing their GDP.

Malta, Lithuania, Latvia, Greece, Cyprus, Romania and Slovenia have decreased their emissions and registered decline in their GDP.