Carbon dioxide emissions in the European Union 2000-2021, by country

Germany has consistently produced the most carbon dioxide emissions in the European Union since the turn of the century. In 2021, Germany produced nearly 629 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. This was more than the combined emissions produced by the next largest emitters in the EU - Italy and Poland. These three countries accounted for roughly 46 percent of total EU carbon dioxide emissions in 2021.

Emission reductions

The outbreak of COVID-19 saw EU carbon dioxide emissions plummet more than 13 percent in 2020 compared to 2019 levels. However, emissions in the EU have been in decline for a number of years, having fallen more than 30 percent since 1990. One of the key contributors to these emissions reductions is the transition towards clean energy sources. This has caused EU energy supply emissions to reduce considerably in recent decades.

Carbon footprints

Although Luxembourg is one of the lowest overall carbon polluters in the EU, the country's emissions of greenhouse gases per person is surprisingly high for such a small nation, at 20.5 tons of CO₂ equivalent per capita. There are multiple reasons for this, such as a high car ownership rate, and fuel-tourism from neighboring countries due to low prices.