CO₂ emissions from major industry and aviation in our country fell by more than 10 percent last year, the largest drop since the financial crisis. This is mainly due to the malaise in the industry, De Tijd writes on Friday.
The large, energy-intensive companies in our country emitted 4.26 million tons of greenhouse gases less last year than a year earlier, a decrease of 10.5 percent. The figure is measured in CO₂ equivalents, a measure that converts the impact of all greenhouse gases together into the impact in CO₂. At the European level, the decline was even more pronounced, by 15.5 percent.
The figures refer to companies that fall within the European Emissions Trading System (ETS). These are the major cement and steel producers, chemical installations, refineries, power stations and airlines for intra-European flights. They must be able to produce an emission allowance for every tonne they emit. This is kept in the greenhouse gas register. The figures come from the annual update of that data.
In Belgium, more than 280 industrial installations and power plants are subject to emissions trading. Together with intra-European flights, they represent approximately 40 percent of all CO₂ emissions in our country.
Production scaled back
This is mainly due to the malaise in the industry. Due to high energy prices and weak demand, many industrial companies scaled back production. The decline in used production capacity in the chemical sector is illustrative. This fell to the lowest level ever and fluctuated between 65 and 73 percent for the whole of 2023, according to figures from the umbrella organization Essenscia.
In addition, the industry has started producing more energy efficiently. While production in the chemicals, plastics and pharmaceutical sectors increased by 77 percent since 2004, greenhouse gas emissions remained stable. Finally, two large industrial installations were shut down last year for maintenance work, the Flemish Energy and Climate Agency indicates.