Information on data
Climate change is a change in climate patterns caused by human activity that goes beyond the climate’s normal variability. The greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted into our atmosphere cause this.
Among the drivers of these emissions are the burning of fossil fuels, industrial processes, livestock farming, and waste treatment.
We can see direct effects like an increase in the global temperature, rising sea levels, and more extreme weather conditions. These impacts have subsequent wide-ranging effects on ecosystems, the economy, society, and human health.
We have to deal with the consequences while trying to counter the causes of climate change. Climate change-related statistics can help us understand this entire process better.
Approaches for the collection of GHG emission data
Monitoring GHG emissions is at the heart of efforts to tackle climate change. We need to know how much we emit and keep track of it over time to see whether efforts to reduce GHG emissions are paying off.
Different methods and formats are used for different purposes to produce complementary emission statistics. Thus, you will find more information below to explain why there are several datasets that report different values.
There are 2 internationally established approaches to reporting greenhouse gas emissions
- national inventories for greenhouse gases and other pollutants: the official reporting framework for international policy commitments (e.g. ‘COP 21 Paris agreement’)
- air emissions accounts: part of the system of environmental-economic accounting
| National inventories for greenhouse gases and other air pollutants (territory principle) |
Air emissions accounts (residence principle) |
|---|---|
| Emissions are assigned to the country where the emission takes place. | Emissions are assigned to the country where the company causing the emission is based (‘resident’). |
| Emissions are assigned to technical processes (e.g. combustion in power plants, solvent use). | Emissions are classified by economic activity (using the NACE classification as used in the system of national accounts). |
| Emissions from international shipping and aviation are assigned to the countries where the associated fuel is purchased regardless of where the purchasing company is based. | Emissions from international shipping and aviation are assigned to the countries where the airline/shipping company is based, regardless of where the emission takes place. |
Note: National and EU totals differ between the 2 approaches, as different boundaries apply.
GHG inventories include international aviation and maritime transport (international bunker fuels) as memorandum items, which means that they are excluded from the national totals reported. However, they are included in air emissions accounts totals.
Therefore, the total emissions reported in GHG inventory databases can differ significantly from the total reported in air emissions accounts for countries with a large international aircraft or shipping fleet.
Eurostat publishes these bridging items in the dataset Air emission accounts totals bridging to emission inventory totals.
Detailed information on datasets on GHG emissions
Additional datasets on greenhouse gas emissions provide early estimates or complementary information. You can find more detailed explanations on these datasets below.
An overview of the complementary emission datasets produced by all EU organisations can be found in the EEA's briefing.
National GHG inventories are the reporting format used by the United Nations framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC) and the EU’s Directorate-General for Climate Action for monitoring the EU climate law. Please consult our page on policy context.
GHG inventories are compiled based on the 2006 guidelines from the intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC). Information on the compilation process and reporting responsibilities can be found in the EU's national inventory report and in the statistical article Climate change – driving forces, under the heading ‘Data sources’. In Europe, the European Environment Agency (EEA) is mainly in charge of compiling and disseminating national GHG inventories.
Eurostat republishes part of the EEA dataset in the dataset Greenhouse gas emissions by source sector.
Eurostat also publishes air emissions accounts, which are in line with the system of environmental-economic accounting (SEEA). Accounts compiled within the framework of the SEEA bring together economic and environmental information in a common framework and are therefore suitable for integrated environmental-economic analysis and modelling.
For example, the air emissions accounts are used to produce footprints, meaning the air emissions linked to final use of products in the EU, both produced in the EU and imported from third countries.
Eurostat uses energy statistics to produce an early estimate of the CO2 emissions of the previous year. These estimates are published as a news article and are not available in a dataset. More information can be found in the thematic section on energy.
Since 2021, Eurostat produces estimates of quarterly greenhouse gas emissions and publishes them less than 5 months after the end of the reference period.
Further reading
- Directorate-General for Climate Action: homepage
- Directorate-General for Climate Action: Climate strategies and targets
- Intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC): homepage
- IPCC: Guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventories 2006
- United Nations climate change: Reporting requirements
- System of environmental-economic accounting (SEEA): homepage
- United Nations framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC): homepage