Imported carbon drives Cyprus to top of EU emissions ranking

Cyprus recorded the highest greenhouse gas footprint per capita in the European Union in 2023, placing the island at the top of the bloc’s emissions ranking based on consumption, according to Eurostat.

According to the data, the greenhouse gas footprint of goods and services consumed in the EU amounted to 9.0 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents per capita in 2023, down approximately 1 tonne compared with 2022, when it stood at 10.0 tonnes.

The indicator measures emissions generated throughout the production chains of products consumed within the EU, regardless of where those emissions occur, and therefore includes emissions embedded in imported goods and services.

In Cyprus, the per capita footprint reached 14.8 tonnes of CO2 equivalents, significantly above the EU average of 9.0 tonnes.

This placed Cyprus ahead of Ireland, which recorded 14.0 tonnes per capita, and Luxembourg, which stood at 12.7 tonnes.

By contrast, the lowest greenhouse gas footprints per capita were recorded in Portugal at 6.5 tonnes, Bulgaria at 6.8 tonnes, and Sweden and Romania at 6.9 tonnes each.

The figures underline the scale of consumption-based emissions in Cyprus, which take into account not only domestic production but also the carbon embedded in imported goods and services consumed on the island.

At EU level, the total greenhouse gas footprint of all goods and services consumed reached 4.0 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalents in 2023.

During the same year, emissions generated by production within the EU amounted to 3.3 billion tonnes, indicating that the bloc’s production emissions were lower than its overall consumption footprint.

Both consumption-based and production-based greenhouse gas emissions declined over the decade from 2013 to 2023.

Over that period, consumption emissions decreased by 12.9 per cent, while production-based emissions fell by 18.6 per cent.

Eurostat highlighted that in 2020 there was a sharp drop in emissions due to the pandemic, reflecting reduced economic activity and mobility across member states.

By 2023, the report continued, consumption-based emissions had returned to the same level as in 2020.

In contrast, production-based emissions continued to decline, falling by a further 3.5 per cent compared with 2020 levels.

The data show that while the EU has made notable progress in reducing emissions linked to domestic production, the gap between consumption and production emissions remains significant, largely due to imported goods and global supply chains.

For Cyprus, the figures point to the importance of addressing not only domestic energy use and industrial output, but also the carbon intensity of imported products and services that shape overall consumption patterns.