Efficiency and decarbonization indicators in the main European countries

National trends of energy and economic indicators have been analyzed in relation to greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption. National indicators are compared with those of the major European countries. The role of factors determining greenhouse gas emission trends has been analyzed, such as economic growth, fossil and renewable fuels composition, transformation efficiency, and fossil fuel emission factors.

National indicators show high transformation efficiency and low intensity as compared to major European countries. The European carbon intensity is lower than the national one for the presence of a non-negligible share of nuclear energy in Europe. However, the Italian fossil fuels carbon intensity is lower than most European countries due to lower share of coal and higher share of natural gas compared to that observed for the average of the European countries.

Sharp declining of GDP and increasing of renewable energy consumption share since 2007 resulted in a significant reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The drop of production activities has played key role in reducing emissions after 2007.

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