Informed Comment Homepage

Thoughts on the Middle East, History and Religion

Header Right

  • Featured
  • US politics
  • Middle East
  • Environment
  • US Foreign Policy
  • Energy
  • Economy
  • Politics
  • About
  • Archives
  • Submissions

© 2025 Informed Comment

  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Featured

European CO2 Emissions keep Plummeting, as 47% of Electricity is Green

Juan Cole 03/15/2025

Tweet
Share
Reddit
Email

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The 27 countries of the European Union, with a population of about 450 million, produce 3.9 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide every year, helping heat up and destabilize the global climate. This is according to the new EU report on energy dated 2025.

But the good news is that European carbon dioxide production has fallen precipitously over the past 15 years.

On the other hand, the proportion of Europe’s energy consumption that comes from renewables has skyrocketed from 9% in 2010 to over a quarter today. Energy is more than just electricity, including for instance the heating of homes, offices and factories.

If we just look at electricity, about 47% or nearly half of Europe’s electricity consumption now comes from renewables — solar, wind, water, battery.


Photo by Daniele La Rosa Messina on Unsplash

The report notes, “In 2023 in the EU, the different had the following shares in final energy consumption: transport (32% of final energy consumption in rail, road, domestic aviation, and inland shipping) had the highest share, followed by energy consumed by private households in citizens’ dwellings (26%), industry (25%), commercial and public services (14%), and agriculture, forestry and fishing (3%).”

Since transportation is so crucial, it is worth noting that over 13% of new car registrations are electric in Europe, down slightly from 14% in the previous year. But about a third of new car registrations are hybrid.

Unfortunately, Europe imports 58 percent of its energy, and it imports a lot of fossil gas, which makes its grid dirtier than it would be if all the energy came from Europe itself, since 40% of European-produced energy is green. Politically, Europe still needs to ween itself off Russian fossil gas if it is to adopt and more independent and active role in defending Ukraine from Moscow.

In contrast, only a little over 20% of electricity in the United States is generated by renewables, less than half the proportion in Europe. Under Trump the discrepancy could accelerate, though solar in particular is an extremely robust industry in the US and even Trump may not be able to stand in its way.

The difference is visible with regard to emissions, as well. The United States, with a population of 340 million, puts out 4.3 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide every year from energy generation, so Europe is obviously much greener with regard to energy than the United States. It is greener both in absolute terms and on a per capita basis. CO2 missions have also fallen in the U.S. in the past 15 years, from 5.5 bn. metric tons per year to 4.3 bn metric tons per year.

Statistic: Carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption in the United States from 1975 to 2023 (in million metric tons of carbon dioxide) | Statista
Find more statistics at Statista

But emissions haven’t fallen as low as Europe’s and that could be a problem. I think countries will gradually bring pressure to bear on climate scofflaws like Trump’s America — lawsuits in international venues, boycotts and sanctions will increasingly be applied. Goods may be taxed on the carbon emissions produced to make them. Since Europe is doing a better job with the green energy transition, these actions could bring wealth to Europe and cause it to flee the United States.

Filed Under: Featured, Green Energy, Solar Energy, wind energy

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment. He is Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Follow him on Twitter at @jricole or the Informed Comment Facebook Page

Primary Sidebar

Support Independent Journalism

Click here to donate via PayPal.

Personal checks should be made out to Juan Cole and sent to me at:

Juan Cole
P. O. Box 4218,
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2548
USA
(Remember, make the checks out to “Juan Cole” or they can’t be cashed)

STAY INFORMED

Join our newsletter to have sharp analysis delivered to your inbox every day.
Warning! Social media will not reliably deliver Informed Comment to you. They are shadowbanning news sites, especially if "controversial."
To see new IC posts, please sign up for our email Newsletter.

Social Media

Bluesky | Instagram

Popular

  • Israel's Netanyahu banks on TACO Trump as he Launches War on Iran to disrupt Negotiations
  • How Israeli and International Businesses and Financial Institutions Sustain Illegal Occupation
  • Israel: Will Ultra-Orthodox Jews' Opposition to Conscription Bring down Netanyahu's Gov't
  • Women's Cancer Rates are Rising in the Oil Gulf: is Global Heating causing it?
  • Freedom of Movement and Global Apartheid: The United States and Israel

Gaza Yet Stands


Juan Cole's New Ebook at Amazon. Click Here to Buy
__________________________

Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires



Click here to Buy Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires.

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam


Click here to Buy The Rubaiyat.
Sign up for our newsletter

Informed Comment © 2025 All Rights Reserved