BRUSSELS: According to figures issued by the European Union's statistics office Eurostat, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions created by economic activity in the Europeon Union declined by 9% in 2020 compared to the previous year.

According to the state  news report, citing Eurostat, the figure is down 24% from 2008, the first available reference year. From more than 4.5 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalents in 2008 to 3.5 billion tonnes in 2020, the total amount of GHG produced by EU production activities and households has decreased.

The biggest drop was in the delivery of electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning, which fell by 41% between 2008 and 2020. Manufacturing likewise saw a significant reduction in GHG emissions between 2008 and 2020, accounting for 276 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent. Manufacturing, residences, as well as the supply of electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning, were the largest emitters of GHG in 2020, with each emitting roughly 700 million CO2 equivalents.

Germany, with over 795 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents, France, with nearly 406 million tonnes, and Italy, with 393 million tonnes, were the top three countries generating the most GHG in 2020.

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