In the European Union, carbon emissions from energy production decreased by 2.8% in 2022 and reached 2.4 billion tons.
This happened because of a 13% decrease in natural gas use after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Barron's reports.
According to Eurostat, the drop in energy-related emissions varied greatly between countries. Thus, the largest reduction was achieved in the Netherlands (12.8%), Luxembourg and Belgium. However, CO2 emissions increased in Bulgaria (by 12%), Portugal and Malta.
It is noted that emissions from the burning of coal and oil increased in the EU in 2022.
The material emphasized that carbon emissions from energy production are the main factor in global warming and account for about 75% of all anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases in the EU. The European Union plans to achieve climate neutrality, that is, zero emissions by 2050.
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that study by climate think tank Ember found that global carbon emissions from energy production peaked in 2022 and will start to decline.
As EcoPolitic previously reported, oil and gas giant BP (formerly British Petroleum) forecast showed that the Russian-Ukrainian war will affect long-term energy demand and accelerate the global green transition.
