In 2024, greenhouse gas emissions were 1.6 percent lower than in 2023. This decrease is smaller than in the two previous years, when emissions decreased by approximately 7 percent. The slight decline in 2024 is due to reduced emissions from the electricity and mobility sectors, while the industry emitted more. This is reported by RIVM/Emissions Registration and the CBS Central Bureau of Statistics (Central Bureau of Statistics) based on preliminary quarterly figures on greenhouse gas emissions.
In 2024, emissions were 37 percent lower than in 1990, the reference year for the Climate Act (external link). Since 1990, all climate sectors have emitted less greenhouse gases. The industry, for example, emits significantly less methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases. The emissions from the electricity sector have also decreased. Particularly since 2017, energy from fossil fuels has increasingly been replaced by energy from biomass, solar, and wind.
The Climate Act states that by 2030, greenhouse gas emissions must be 55 percent lower than in 1990. This amounts to a total reduction of 125 Megatons CO2 carbon dioxide (carbon dioxide)-equivalent*. Between 1990 and 2023, emissions decreased by an average of 2.5 Megatons per year. In 2024, emissions fell by 2 Megatons. To meet the Climate Acts target, emissions must decrease by an average of 7 Megatons per year over the next six years.
Figure: Greenhouse gas emissions according to IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) since 1990
Source: CBS Central Bureau of Statistics (Central Bureau of Statistics), RIVM/Emissions Registration