Intro

A greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory provides an annual account of GHG emissions and removals occurring within the territory of a country. The EU GHG inventory is the sum of the 27 Member States’ GHG inventories submitted to the European Commission. The EEA supports the European Commission to compile the EU GHG inventory, which is the EU’s official submission to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The EEA has the mandate to implement quality assurance and quality control checks on the Member States’ GHG inventories.

About GHG inventory estimation and reporting methods

The EU GHG inventory and the data shown in the GHG data viewer are based on national GHG inventories reported by Member States in accordance with the EU Governance Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2018/1999)).

The EU’s and Member States’ GHG inventories are prepared in accordance with the international requirements of the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) under the Paris Agreement. The Modalities, Procedures and Guidelines (MPGs) adopted in Decision 18/CMA.1 set out the detailed requirements for reporting under the ETF, including requirements for national GHG inventories.

According the MPGs, the methods to estimate GHG emissions and removals shall be those of the 2006 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines for national GHG inventories. Parties may also voluntarily use the 2013 Supplement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Wetlands and the IPCC 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines (Decision 5/CMA.3).

What the data are telling us

• Since 1990, the EU substantially decreased GHG emissions. While this progress brings the EU closer to its ambitious climate targets, the drivers of emission reductions can also offer environmental, economic and social benefits, including greater energy security and innovation.
• Many factors have contributed to this decrease in GHG emissions, such as the transition away from fossil fuels, the increased share of renewables and improvements in energy efficiency. However, more rapid emission reductions will be needed to achieve climate targets by 2030 and 2050.
• Since 1990, most sectors in the EU have reduced their GHG emissions, although progress has been uneven across sectors. While GHG emissions from energy supply and industry have reduced considerably, abatement in transport, buildings and agriculture has been less prominent. The land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector continues to provide a net carbon sink, yet the size of the sink has declined over the past decades.