That the share accounted for by renewables in the energy mix rose at the expense of fossil fuels during COVID-19 lockdowns last year has been accepted for some time, but the Eurostat has now offered details of the falls in energy-related carbon emissions witnessed in the bloc.
The statistical body noted its figures do not include emissions caused by the burning of non-recyclable waste in incinerators, and also exclude data from Sweden, which are being revised.
Nevertheless, Greece's performance was impressive and almost matched by Estonia, where energy-use emissions were 18.1% lower, year-on-year; and microstate Luxembourg, which posted a 17.9% fall. Spain's energy use led to the emission of 16.2% less carbon than in 2019 and Denmark's 14.8%.
At the other end of the scale, Malta saw just a 1% fall in its energy-related emissions, Hungary 1.7%, and Ireland and Lithuania 2.6%, each.
Eurostat said coal and oil combustion fell in all EU member states last year, at the same time as solar, wind and hydro generated more than 80 TWh more than it did in the previous year.
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