Despite a sharp decline, Belgium’s climate footprint remains one of the largest in the European Union. According to the latest Eurostat report, Belgians emitted an average of over 10.3 tons of greenhouse gases in 2023, about 15% above the EU average, and roughly 60% above the world average.
In 2023, the greenhouse gas footprint in the EU amounted to 9 tons of CO2 equivalents per capita, despite the declining trend of recent years.
Annual damage costs
Emissions have been falling since the late 1980s, but they should actually fall twice as fast to become climate neutral. At the current rate, Belgium will not reach that target by 2050.
Belgium’s emissions are partly related to the country’s consumption behavior. Transport is also the biggest culprit. According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), transport is the biggest polluter and the sector experiencing the slowest decline.
High-consumption economy
Belgium will certainly not be spared from the consequences. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Belgium will incur annual damage costs of €9.5 billion from heat, drought, and flooding.
There are several reasons why Belgium ranks high – it ranks 6th in the EU-27. The country has a high consumption economy (higher income, higher consumption) and is highly import-dependent. Also, the embedded ‘company car’ system, commuting patterns, and mobility and heating habits contribute to increased per-capita emissions.
Greenhouse gas footprints
Of course, Belgium isn’t alone in facing this challenge. The race to climate neutrality applies to every member state, and some countries are better off than others.
Among EU countries, the lowest greenhouse gas footprints were recorded in Portugal (6.5 tons of CO2 equivalents per capita), Bulgaria (6.8 tons), and Sweden and Romania (6.9 tons each). By contrast, the highest footprints per capita were recorded in Cyprus (14.8 tons), Ireland (14.0 tons), and Luxembourg (12.7 tons).
Unlike traditional emissions statistics, which measure emissions within national borders, this dataset measures consumption-based emissions — all greenhouse gases emitted globally to satisfy domestic consumption. That means imported goods count toward a country’s footprint.
