Greenhouse gas emissions up 6% in EU compared to 2021
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Eurostat attributes the increase to last year's inactivity during the lockdown.
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Smog casts over the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. (Getty Images)
In the first quarter of 2022, the volume of greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union has increased by 6% compared to the same period last year, according to the EU statistical office Eurostat.
"In the first quarter of 2022, EU economy greenhouse gas emissions totaled 1.029 million tonnes of CO2-equivalents, a 7% and 6% increase compared with the same quarter of 2020 and 2021, but still below pre-COVID levels registered in the first quarter of 2019, when the EU economy emitted 1.035 million tonnes of CO2-equivalents," Eurostat said in a statement.
The increase in CO2 emissions is largely due to the effect of an economic rebound after a steep decline due to inactivity during COVID-19 lockdowns, according to the statement.
The Union has vowed to reach a net-zero emission goal by 2050 - the EU's climate-neutral goal will need an energy production and consumption restructuring, in addition to a serious emission reduction and more renewable energy alternatives.
Read next: EDO: 60% of Europe facing drought warning or alerts
Last month, more than 1,100 died in both Spain and Portugal combined due to the heatwave that is ravaging Europe.
As the climate crisis worsens, governments seem to be taking little to no action to assist citizens with the proper measures to deal with the scorching heat.
The heatwave is caused by the emissions of greenhouse gases, which created a build-up in the earth's atmosphere and caused the climate to heat further above its usual levels.
In France and the UK, "red" alerts were issued as a consequence of rising temperatures. For the UK, it was the first time ever that the nation issued a heat-related warning, cautioning that there was a "risk to life".
One city in southwest France, Gironde, evacuated more than 16,000 residents due to the ravaging wildfires that devoured over 13,000 hectares of vegetation in the Bordeaux region in six days.
