Recent data shows greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union went up. In the third quarter of 2025, emissions increased by 1.1%. This means the EU released 828 million tonnes of CO2-equivalents. This rise happened after a period of lower emissions. However, countries showed different results. Cyprus did very well in reducing its emissions. It was the third best country in the EU for this.
The EU's economy also grew by 0.4% at the same time. This suggests economic growth can still lead to more pollution. Emissions from homes increased a lot, by 3.6%. Factories also produced more emissions, a 1.4% rise. However, emissions from electricity and cooling went down by 0.8%. Estonia, Slovenia, and Cyprus had the biggest drops in emissions.
In the United States, a policy change might hurt global climate goals. The Trump administration is removing an important finding about greenhouse gases. This finding from 2009 said these gases were harmful. It was used to control pollution from industries. Environmental groups worry this could lead to billions of tonnes more greenhouse gases by 2055. This could cost trillions of dollars.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has a warning. Energy demand is growing faster than renewable energy. This means we still need fossil fuels. Experts call this "energy addition." The IEA expects more renewable energy, especially from solar power. But there are problems with supplies and old electricity grids. The US leaving climate agreements before made global action harder. This could delay reaching ‘net zero’ targets. Legal fights about the new US policy show climate policy is difficult. The EU and US have different plans. This shows we need global action on climate change.