The European Union cut its net greenhouse gas emissions by 1.6 per cent in 2025, according to official figures published on Monday, but Brussels warned that the pace of reductions must accelerate sharply if the bloc is to meet its legally binding 2030 climate target.
The European Commission’s 2026 Climate Action Progress Report, published on 9 November alongside the European Environment Agency’s annual trends and projections assessment, puts net emissions 39 per cent below their 1990 level. Over the same period the EU economy has grown by 74 per cent.
Emissions covered by the EU Emissions Trading System fell by around 2 per cent, while emissions in sectors covered by the Effort Sharing Regulation — including transport, buildings and agriculture — were broadly stable. The energy supply sector cut emissions by an estimated 1.2 per cent, and industry by about 15 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent. But domestic transport emissions rose 0.3 per cent and buildings by 0.8 per cent.
The warning lies in the projections. Under policies already in place, member states’ projections point to a 48 per cent cut by 2030. Even with additional measures governments have announced but not yet fully delivered, the cut reaches only 54 per cent — one point short of the legally binding 55 per cent target. The Commission says emissions would need to fall by an average of around 153 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent a year between 2026 and 2030 to stay on track.
Carbon market revenues rose: Emissions Trading System revenues reached €43.2 billion in 2025, up 11 per cent, money member states can invest in decarbonisation. The land-use sector absorbed about 256 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent — roughly 8 per cent of the EU’s total emissions.
The figures land as COP31 continues in Antalya, Turkey, where nearly 200 countries are negotiating through 20 November. The EU’s assessment makes the delivery gap the central question: the bloc has cut emissions by nearly two-fifths since 1990, but the remaining cuts must come faster, and from the sectors — transport and buildings — that have barely moved.
Sources: European Commission, “Progress on climate action” (https://climate.ec.europa.eu/areas-action/climate-strategies-targets/progress-climate-action_en) and European Environment Agency, “Total net greenhouse gas emission trends and projections in Europe” (http://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/indicators/total-greenhouse-gas-emission-trends).
