EU Posts 2.8 Percent Lower Fossil Fuel CO2 Emissions for 2022

The European Union has reported 2.8 percent lower carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from energy production using fossil fuels for 2022 at an estimated 2.4 gigatons, with the contribution from natural gas “significantly” down reflecting lower demand.

The continent’s biggest economy, Germany, had the highest share at one-quarter, Eurostat reported Friday. Italy and Poland followed at 12.4 percent each. Fourth was France, accounting for 10.7 percent.

Bulgaria logged the greatest increase at a rate of 12 percent, followed by Portugal at 9.9 percent and Malta at 4.1 percent.

The largest decrease came from the Netherlands at 12.8 percent. Luxembourg registered the second biggest dip at 12 percent, followed by Belgium at 9.7 percent and Hungary at 8.6 percent.

“In 2022, aggregated data shows that CO₂ emissions from solid fossil fuels (coal and oil shale, excluding peat) slightly increased at the EU level (+3 percentage points; pp.), whereas emissions from oil and petroleum products remained at approximately the same level as in 2021 (+1 pp)”, the EU statistics agency said in a press release.

That of natural gas fell by 13 percentage points, “reflecting, among other things, the efforts invested by EU countries to achieve the voluntary gas demand reduction target introduced in August 2022”.

EU members agreed to voluntarily adopt measures of their own to cut their natural gas demand by 15 percent each between August 2022 and March 2023 relative to each nation’s consumption average in the five years prior. The move by the European Council meant “to make savings for this winter, in order to prepare for possible disruptions of gas supplies from Russia, which is continuously using energy supplies as a weapon”, the 27-member group’s decision-making body said August 5, 2022.

On March 28 the council agreed to extend the reduction for one year till March 2024.

“CO₂ emissions from energy use are a major contributor to global warming and account for around 75% of all man-made greenhouse gas emissions in the EU”, the media statement Friday said.

Eurostat did not include Sweden in its computation expecting revisions of oil data for the last two years for that country. It also excluded emissions from the importation of electricity as they are counted for the origin country.

But it said “using imported natural gas for electricity generation leads to an increase in emissions in the country that imported the gas”.

The methodology accounted for emissions from coal, natural gas, oil, oil products and peat.

“A more in-depth analysis needs to take into account all imports and exports of different primary and derived energy products, commodities with embedded emissions (such as iron and steel), as well as, in the case of transport, fuel tourism (i.e., fueling a vehicle in one country but consuming that fuel in another country)”, the agency said.

Pandemic Rebound

In 2021 the EU posted an estimated 6.3 percent rise in CO₂ emissions from the burning of fossil fuels against the prior year.

Eurostat noted in the 2021 report “most of the COVID-19 containment measures were lifted by the EU Member States”.

“In 2021, the increase in CO₂ emissions was mainly due to the rising use of solid fossil fuels (which contributed to over 50% of the increase). Liquid fossil fuels were responsible for over 29% of the increase, whereas 21% can be attributed to natural gas. The reduced use of peat slightly alleviated the increase in CO₂ emissions”, it said June 24, 2022.

In 2020, the first year of pandemic lockdowns across the globe, CO₂ emissions from fossil fuels shrank in the EU by around 10 percent, according to Eurostat.

“In 2020, a clear drop in fossil fuel consumption (hardcoal, lignite, shale oil and oil sands, oil and oil products and natural gas) was observed in all countries”, most of which also recorded weaker consumption of oil and oil products, the agency reported May 7, 2021.

Lower Consumption in 2022

The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) earlier reported though the EU upped last year fossil fuel imports from other countries as it banned supply from Russia, the non-Russian deliveries “were not covering for increased demand inasmuch as they were covering for the loss of supply from Russia”.

And while energy demand rebounded before Russia’s war on Ukraine following the relaxation of pandemic restrictions, the conflict-induced hike in prices dented consumption, the non-government organization said.

“The rebound in coal and other fossil fuel use that was associated with re-opening and economic recovery after COVID-19 has ended, and coal use or CO₂ emissions never rose above the pre-pandemic levels”, the CREA wrote February 13.

“The fossil fuel supply shock has also accelerated clean energy investments and the energy transition, leading to faster coal phase-down and emissions reductions in the coming years than previously expected”.

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