Cyprus has the second-highest carbon emissions per capita of any country in the European Union, according to climate analysts CarbonBrief. The island emitted 3.1 tonnes of carbon dioxide per person per year in 2023, just 0.1 tonnes shy of the highest per-capita emitter, the Czech Republic.
Following closely, Poland is the third-highest per capita emitter of carbon dioxide, with Germany and Malta rounding out the top five. Notably, Malta was among just three countries to record higher per capita emissions in 2023 than in 2019, the other two being Croatia and Lithuania. The EU average was less than two tonnes per capita.
Power Sector Emissions
Cyprus’ total power sector carbon emissions fell by 6.19 percent between 2019 and 2023 – a lower reduction than 21 other EU member states. The highest reduction was seen in Portugal, which saw its total power sector carbon emissions fall by an impressive 52.16 percent. Latvia and Finland also recorded significant reductions of more than 40 percent. The EU average reduction was 20.48 percent.
Conversely, Malta, Croatia, and Lithuania all saw their total power sector carbon emissions increase between 2019 and 2023, with Lithuania’s increase a stark 56.14 percent.
Shift Towards Renewable Energy
In addition, Cyprus replaced a total of 10.12 percent of its energy supply, which was previously sourced from fossil fuels, with renewable energy sources. This figure was the twelfth-greatest swing towards renewable energy usage of any EU member state. The Netherlands led the charge over the same time period, reducing its share of energy supplied by fossil fuels by 28.86 percent and increasing its share of energy supplied by renewable sources by 28.84 percent.
Interestingly, Slovakia was the only EU member state to see a fall in the proportion of its power supplied by renewable sources. The EU average was a 6.55 percent decrease in fossil fuel usage and a 10.23 percent increase in renewable source usage as a proportion of total energy supply.
