Elżbieta Jadwiga Szymańska

Department of Logistics, Institute of Economics and Finance,

Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Poland

elzbieta_szymanska@sggw.edu.pl 

ORCID 0000-0001-7686-1243

Changes in greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture in selected European Union countries

Agnieszka Tłuczak

Department of Econometrics and Quantitative Methods,

Faculty of Economics, Institute of Economics and Finance,

University of Opole, Poland

tluczak@uni.opole.pl

ORCID 0000-0001-6217-8822

Abstract. The aim of the research was to identify changes in greenhouse gas emissions from EU countries in the years 2008-2022. The research used available Eurostat data from 24 EU countries. Descriptive statistics, the Ward method and shift share analysis were used. The survey shows that in 2021 the agricultural sector was responsible for 15.3% of total greenhouse emissions in EU. Most carbon emissions from farming come from methane (54%), followed by nitrous oxide (28%) and carbon dioxide (18%). The research shows that the largest increases in carbon pollution, creating a carbon footprint in the exploring period, were recorded in Bulgaria, Estonia, Romania, Latvia and Hungary. A different situation occurred in Croatia and Germany, where carbon dioxide and methane emissions from cultivation were reduced. The research confirms that the dynamics of changes in greenhouse gas emissions depend on the intensity of agribusiness. Moreover, the structure of greenhouse emissions varies regionally. Therefore, the European Union's policy on reducing the carbon footprint should consider regional conditions.

Received: July, 2025

1st Revision: September, 2025

Accepted: February, 2026

DOI: 10.14254/2071-8330.2026/19-1/10

JEL Classification: Q1, Q5, C4

Keywords: greenhouse gases, agriculture, forestry, European Union, dynamics of change