Dutch aviation reaches record CO2 emissions
The Dutch aviation sector has never before emitted as much CO2 as it did last year.
Published on April 7, 2025
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The Dutch aviation sector has never before emitted as much CO2 as it did last year. This is evident from figures provided by the Dutch Emission Authority (NEa). This 2.9% increase follows 7 years of significant decreases. The figures concern flights within Europe.
Emissions rose by 17% to 3.1 million tons of CO2. This is the highest level of aviation emissions ever, 200,000 tons of CO2 more than in 2019. Although the airlines have used more biofuels, this is not enough to compensate for the higher number of flights.
Increase in CO2 in other sectors as well
The NEa notes that various sectors were emitting more in 2024, but in relative terms, the increase was greatest in aviation. Industrial emissions, for example, increased by 1.2 million tons of CO2. The biggest change can be seen at Tata Steel, which had emitted relatively little in 2023 due to maintenance on a blast furnace. Tata's emissions had risen again to 5.9 million tons of CO2 by 2024.
With the increase in CO2 emissions in various sectors last year, the challenge of meeting the goals of the climate agreement has only grown.