Spain’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions decreased by 14% in 2020

Spain’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (including LULUCF) decreased by 13.7% in 2020 to 271.5 MtCO_2eq (-6.4% compared to 1990 level), according to preliminary data from the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO). This drop is due to an increase renewable electricity generation, the fall in coal use, and activity and mobility limitations associations with the COVID-19 pandemic. CO₂ accounted for 78% of total GHG emissions in 2020, followed by methane (14%). Transport represented 28% of total GHG emissions in 2020, followed by industry (21%), agriculture and livestock (14%), electricity generation (10%), households and services (8%) and waste (5%). GHG emissions from installations subject to the EU ETS declined by 18.7% in 2020 compared to 2019. Emissions from diffuse sectors decreased by 10% and those from dometic air transport nearly halved in 2020 (-48%). The LULUCF (Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry) sector is estimated to have removed 13.5% of Spain’s gross GHG emissions (36.6 MtCO₂eq).