In 2025, emissions from industrial facilities covered by the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) fell by 3.3% compared with the previous year. Revenues from emissions allowance auctions rose by 11% over the same period, to €43.2 billion.
According to reports published by the European Commission on November 9 on progress in climate policy in 2026 and on the carbon market, the main reductions came from the metals, cement and chemical industries. Emissions declined in most industrial sectors, but rose by more than 2% in ceramics and aluminium production.
Total emissions from installations and activities covered by the EU ETS, including electricity and heat generation, industry, aviation and maritime transport, fell by 2% over the year to around 1.16 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. Emissions from power and heat generation decreased by 1.7%, while those from maritime transport fell by 4%. Aviation emissions, by contrast, rose by 0.2%.
The EU ETS is a system under which companies buy and sell greenhouse gas emissions allowances. Of the €43.2 billion raised from auctions in 2025, €23.9 billion went directly to EU countries. The Modernisation Fund received €6.5 billion, the Innovation Fund €2.6 billion, and the Social Climate Fund €3.7 billion. These figures represent revenues from allowance auctions, not the total volume of trading on the carbon market.
Preliminary data show that the EU’s net greenhouse gas emissions fell by 1.6% year on year in 2025. They were 39% below 1990 levels, while the EU economy grew by 74% over the same period.
The European Commission said the pace of emissions reductions had slowed compared with previous years and stressed the need to accelerate them. The EU’s target is to cut net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% from 1990 levels by 2030.
