The European Commission has published the verified emission data of the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) for the year 2025, which shows a reduction of 1.3% compared to the levels of 2024. This decline extends the downward trend that the system has maintained since its inception in 2005, during which emissions from covered sectors have been reduced by half. With these figures, the EU ETS remains on track to achieve the target of a 62% reduction by 2030.
The verified data, reported by member states before the deadline of March 31, 2026, covers a total of 7,064 fixed installations with recorded emissions in 2025, along with 206 aircraft operators and 1,745 maritime operators. Emissions from stationary installations amounted to 937.1 million tonnes of CO₂, compared to 1,033.5 million in 2024. The historical series reflects the progressive reduction from the 2,047.4 million tonnes recorded in 2008 to the current figures.
The maritime sector, incorporated into the EU ETS in 2024, occupies an increasingly relevant place within the system. The data communicated to date shows that emissions from the sector fell by around 3%, according to the European Commission's estimate. However, the community institution warns that the notification for maritime transport has not yet concluded, and the definitive trends will only be known once the process is completed.
The verified database records a total of 3,987 maritime operators registered in the EU ETS registry, of which 1,745 have reported emissions corresponding to the year 2025, compared to 3,284 who did so in 2024. This difference is due to the still-open nature of the notification period, which prevents direct comparisons between the two years with the data currently available.
By countries of registration, Greece tops the reported maritime emissions in 2025, with 11.08 million tonnes of CO₂ declared by 319 operators. Italy is in second place, with 8.11 million tonnes from 119 operators, followed by Germany, with 6.23 million tonnes and 379 registered operators.
Spain ranks as the fourth country in maritime emissions within the EU ETS, with 4.74 million tonnes of CO₂ communicated to date by 310 of the 758 maritime operators registered in its registry. It is followed by the Netherlands, with 3.60 million tonnes declared by 211 operators, and Norway, with 2.30 million tonnes corresponding to 82 operators.
The emission structure of the maritime sector presents a high concentration: the top 10% of operators with the highest emissions account for 69.4% of the total declared, while the 50 largest emitters concentrate 46.9% of the communicated emissions. The average emission per operator stands at 24,826 tonnes of CO₂, although the median is considerably lower, at 5,949 tonnes, reflecting the significant disparity between large shipping companies and smaller operators.
Germany remained the largest emitter within the system in stationary installations, with 263.16 million tonnes of CO₂, representing a reduction of 3.6% compared to 2024. It is followed by Poland, with 104.56 million tonnes and a significant drop of 29.7%; Italy, with 101.16 million tonnes and virtually no variation (-0.2%); and Spain, which recorded 78.48 million tonnes, 2.0% more than the previous year. The Netherlands, with 61.61 million tonnes (+2.9%), and France, with 50.11 million tonnes (-21.5%), complete the group of the main emitters.
In the case of Spain, the fourth country with the highest emissions within the EU ETS, the 2% increase is primarily explained by the rise in emissions from fuel combustion, which grew by 7.5% to reach 33.81 million tonnes, distributed among 302 installations. Oil refining, the second most important sector with 12.84 million tonnes distributed across 10 installations, experienced a reduction of 1.7%. Cement clinker production, with 10.67 million tonnes in 28 installations, fell by 2.7%, while iron and steel production dropped by 1.1% to 5.85 million tonnes in 19 installations.
At the European level, the fuel combustion sector concentrated the majority of emissions from fixed installations, with 530.1 million tonnes and a decrease of 8%. Oil refining summed 88.3 million tonnes (-8.7%) and iron and steel production, 76.5 million (-8.9%). Particularly noteworthy was the reduction in cement clinker production, which fell by 18.2% to 72.7 million tonnes, as well as in glass manufacturing (-20.8%) and paper and cardboard production (-15.4%).
Emissions from electricity generation using fossil fuel combustion continued their downward trajectory, with a drop of 0.4% in 2025, while net electricity generation in the EU grew moderately by 1.7% compared to the previous year. The share of renewable electricity in the total generation mix experienced a slight increase, rising from 47.2% in 2024 to 47.3% in 2025. Solar energy was the source that recorded the largest year-on-year growth, with an increase of 24.6%.
This advance in solar generation compensated for the setbacks experienced by wind and hydroelectric energy during 2025, caused by lower wind speeds and sparser rainfall in northern Europe. These same climatic conditions, combined with the continued growth of installed solar capacity, raised photovoltaic production to surpass hydroelectric generation for the first time, thus becoming the second largest source of renewable electricity in the EU, second only to wind. However, total electricity generation from fossil fuels increased by 3.5% year-on-year in 2025. Within this section, emissions from coal plants fell by 6.8% year-on-year, while electricity generation from natural gas grew by 11.4%.
As for aviation operators, emissions covered by the EU ETS recorded a slight increase compared to 2024, attributed to increased air traffic. The data corresponds to 206 operators with verified emissions in 2025.
Overall, the information presented covers the vast majority of operators included in the scope of the Directive, although the notification of aviation and maritime transport emissions is still ongoing, so final trends will only become clear once this process is completed.