Romania responsible for 3.5% of CO2 produced in the EU in Q3 of 2022

Romania ranks in the middle of the pack of EU countries which produced the most carbon emissions since the start of the war in Ukraine. The country produced 3.5% of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by EU countries in the third quarter of 2022.

According to Eurostat, in the third quarter of 2022, EU countries released 854 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, with Romania responsible for 3.5% of this amount.

EU countries have reverted back to coal after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February last year. Coal use in energy production in the EU rose by 1.5%, according to think tank Ember cited by Euronews. Greenhouse gas emissions increased in 16 states of the Union around the same time.

Poland, which produces most of its electricity using coal, has the most carbon emissions. France, which uses nuclear energy, Luxembourg and Sweden are the least polluting.

Intermittent renewable energy and high natural gas prices keep fossil fuels, coal especially, attractive. In Romania, a third of the country's electricity each year is produced in old coal or natural gas plants, and because of this, the increase in gas prices was passed along to electricity customers too.

Energy expert Otilia Nuțu notes that Romania did not invest in modernizing its plants in the last six years. Until 2016 there were various investment support schemes at the EU level, and European states spent a total of EUR 1,000 bln to help the population with their rising energy bills.

(Photo source: Andis Atvars | Dreamstime.com)