LUXEMBOURG / RankWire.AI / – In the European Union, greenhouse gas emissions reached 837 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in the first quarter of 2026, according to Eurostat. The seasonally adjusted figures indicate a slight rise of 0.3% from the previous quarter’s 835 million tonnes. During the same period, the EU’s gross domestic product showed no change from the previous quarter. These statistics offer the latest snapshot of emissions from economic activities and households across the 27-member bloc.
Compared to the first quarter of 2025, emissions declined by 1.2%, while EU GDP grew by 0.8%, Eurostat data reveals. The reported emissions include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases, all expressed in CO2-equivalent units. To facilitate comparisons over time, Eurostat seasonally adjusts the quarterly emissions data. The Netherlands, Slovenia, and Spain provided their own emission estimates, while Eurostat estimated data for the remaining European Union member states.
The largest quarterly increase in emissions was observed in the electricity, gas, steam, and air-conditioning supply sector, which rose by 4.8%. Water supply, sewerage, and waste management saw a 0.7% increase. Household emissions, however, declined by 1.3%, while manufacturing, construction, and transportation and storage each fell by 0.6%. Manufacturing continued to be the main contributor to total EU emissions at 20.8%, closely followed by households at 20.2%. The electricity, gas, steam, and air-conditioning sector accounted for an additional 16.5% of the total.
Emissions Grow in 20 EU Member States
During the quarter, greenhouse gas emissions increased in 20 of the EU’s 27 member nations, while seven saw decreases. Estonia experienced the largest rise at 9.7%, with Finland following at 6.4%, and Bulgaria at 4.6%. Eurostat attributed these increases mainly to higher emissions from construction and the supply of electricity, gas, steam, and air-conditioning. Conversely, Slovenia recorded the largest decline at 5.0%, with Luxembourg at 3.8% and Romania at 2.7% also experiencing reductions during this period.
Of the 20 countries where emissions rose, 18 also experienced GDP growth in the same quarter. Among the seven nations that reduced emissions, four—Spain, Greece, France, and Slovenia—saw their economic output either remain steady or increase. These figures offer a detailed view at the country level, illustrating how emissions and GDP fluctuated across member states in the first three months of 2026.
Emissions for the Year Still Beneath 2015 Levels
Eurostat’s separate annual data shows that EU economy and household greenhouse gas emissions totaled 3.3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2025, which is 17.2% lower than the levels recorded in 2015. This annual figure encompasses all economic activities and household emissions combined. Despite a slight rise from the last quarter of 2025, the most recent quarterly data indicates that early 2026 emissions remained below the same period in the previous year.
Eurostat releases quarterly estimates of greenhouse gases to complement other economic indicators such as GDP and employment figures. These data classify emissions by sector and household activities, enabling cross-sector and cross-country comparisons within the EU. For the first quarter of 2026, emissions showed a modest increase quarter-on-quarter, while GDP remained unchanged. Compared to the same quarter in 2025, emissions decreased by 1.2%, even as economic output grew by 0.8%.