Source: Mayor.eu, D. Balgaranov

The latest European Environment Agency (EEA) report shows transport emissions have risen by 24% in the past 30 years.

One very crucial takeaway from the EEA analysis is that, although carbon emissions from most sectors have fallen significantly between 1990-2020, they have increased in the transport sector. Additionally, the Austrian Automotive Club (Verkehrsklubs Österreich) published a complimentary analysis of transport emissions per capita per country based on the EEA data for 2020.

According to the analysis, Luxembourg has the highest emissions per capita from transport at 7,355 kilograms of CO2 per capita. Next comes Austria with a considerably smaller 2,300 kilograms, and Slovenia with 2,180 kilograms. For comparison, the EU 27 average sat at 1,545 kilograms.

Why Luxembourg?

Data from Eurostat in 2019 placed Luxembourg as the country with the highest rate of car ownership (681 cars per 1,000 people). While this statistic could be argued to explain the country’s CO2 transport emissions, it loses significance when compared to Italy which has approximately 666 cars per 1,000 people, but places 22nd of the 27 European countries for transport-related CO2 emissions.

The Luxembourg emission scenario becomes stranger still when considering the country’s free public transport policy, including cross-border travel. Transport specialists across Europe will be watching the country with interest in the coming years to see if it is able to successfully curb emissions.

The EU 27 by emissions from transport, from the Austrian Automotive Club research:

1. Luxembourg: 7,355 kilograms of CO2 per capita;
2. Austria: 2,300 kilograms;
3. Slovenia: 2,180 kilograms;
4. Lithuania: 2,110 kilograms;
5. Ireland: 1,930 kilograms;
6. Denmark: 1,930 kilograms;
7. Belgium: 1,795 kilograms;
8. Finland: 1,785 kilograms;
9. Germany: 1,720 kilograms;
10. Estonia: 1,655 kilograms;
11. Poland: 1,645 kilograms;
12. Czech Republic: 1,625 kilograms;
13. Latvia: 1,595 kilograms;
14. Cyprus: 1,565 kilograms;
15. France: 1,550 kilograms;
16. Spain: 1,480 kilograms;
17. Netherlands: 1,455 kilograms;
18. Croatia: 1,435 kilograms;
19. Portugal: 1,390 kilograms;
20. Sweden: 1,355 kilograms;
21. Bulgaria: 1,335 kilograms;
22. Italy: 1,330 kilograms;
23. Hungary: 1,270 kilograms;
24. Greece: 1,255 kilograms;
25. Slovakia: 1,250 kilograms;
26. Malta: 970 Kilograms;
27. Romania: 925 kilograms.