Source: European Parliament
In 2023, Estonia accounted for 0.4 % of the EU’s net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and achieved a net emissions reduction of 27.9 % compared with 2005. The country’s total emissions decreased by 40.6 % between 2005 and 2023, but its land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector remained a net emissions source in 2023, after being a carbon sink up until 2013. While emissions from sectors under the EU emissions trading system (ETS) fell by 59 % compared with 2005, those from sectors covered by the effort-sharing legislation declined by only 4.1 %. Between 2005 and 2023, Estonia succeeded in reducing emissions in all sectors, except transport and agriculture, but remained one of the most carbon-intensive economies in the EU, heavily reliant on oil shale in energy production. Over 59.4 % of Estonia’s recovery and resilience plan supports the green transition. Estonia submitted a draft updated national energy and climate plan (NECP) in August 2023, confirming its commitment to achieving climate neutrality by 2050 (see trajectory in Figure 1). The European Commission assessed it and made recommendations for the final plan, overdue since June 2024. In a 2023 survey, 25 % of Estonians, compared with a 46 % EU average, identified climate change as of the four most serious problems facing the world. Most expect national government (55 %) and/or the EU (45 %) to tackle climate change, while 22 % find it to be a personal responsibility. This briefing is one in a series covering all EU Member States.