CO2 Emissions in 2022

Despite the coinciding challenges of oil and gas market disruptions, hydro shortfalls due to drought, and numerous nuclear plants going offline, the European Union reduced its emissions by 2.5% (or 70 Mt), thanks to a mild winter, effective energy conservation measures, fuel switching, behaviour changes, and industrial production curtailments. Reduced natural gas emissions more than offset increases in emissions from coal and oil.

Buildings sector emissions declined the most, by 60 Mt, enabled by exceptionally mild weather from October to December 2022 – the second warmest start to winter in the last 30 years – and collective energy conservation measures. Average electricity consumption was lower, even accounting for weather, and electricity use was less sensitive to temperature changes in 2022 than in 2019, pointing to the role of behaviour change. EU heat pump sales reached 2.8 million, more than doubling in several countries from the previous year. Meanwhile industry sector CO2 emissions declined by 42 Mt. 

Power sector emissions increased by 28 Mt even though electricity demand declined, as a temporarily higher reliance on coal increased carbon intensity. A 15% increase in wind and solar PV generation helped prevent further coal use with wind and solar PV for the first time jointly overtaking gas as well as nuclear as the top source of Europe’s electricity generation. This record-breaking increase in solar PV and wind generation avoided almost 75 Mt CO2 of emissions. Without hydro generation decreasing by 21% year-on-year and nuclear by 17%, another 80 Mt could have been averted.