During the same period, the European Union economy continued to expand. Gross domestic product increased by 0.2% compared with the third quarter of 2025. The quarterly greenhouse gas estimates complement economic indicators such as gross domestic product and employment.
Energy sector drives increase
The strongest increase in emissions came from the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply sector, where emissions rose by 7.2% quarter-on-quarter. Transportation and storage followed with an increase of 1.3%, while mining and quarrying recorded a rise of 0.9%.
By contrast, emissions from households declined by 2.0%. Manufacturing emissions also decreased slightly by 0.1%.
Compared with the fourth quarter of 2024, greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union increased by 0.4%. Over the same period, seasonally and calendar adjusted gross domestic product rose by 1.5%.
Emissions decline in seven member states
Quarter-on-quarter emissions increased in 19 European Union member states during the fourth quarter of 2025. Germany recorded stable emissions levels, while seven countries reported declines.
The largest reductions were estimated in Finland, where emissions fell by 3.2%, followed by Malta with a decline of 2.0% and Czechia with a reduction of 0.6%.
All seven member states with declining emissions — Bulgaria, Czechia, Spain, Lithuania, Malta, Slovakia and Finland — also recorded economic growth during the same period.
