Fluctuated at a particularly low level carbon dioxide emissions in Europe at the beginning of the year from power plants and industry is lower than at the peak of the pandemic, just as high energy prices and strong production renewable sources reduce demand for fossil fuels.

Emissions from power plants and industrial activities covered by its containment system European Union, fell 13% in the first four months of the year, according to geoanalytics firm Kayrros SAS. In fact, the amount of approximately 400 million tons of CO2 produced during that period was slightly less than the amount produced at the beginning of 2020, when pandemic-related restrictions came into force.

Part of the reduction in emissions can be attributed to increased energy production from renewable sources, but the other main reason is the sharp decline in demand from industries that cannot meet the increased cost of energy.

Although its prices natural gas clearly below last year’s highs, cut emissions to levels lower than when the European economy was shut down by the coronavirus is a sign that the effects energy crisis they haven’t passed yet.

“The industry is slowing or shutting down,” said Andreas Gandolfo, an analyst at BloombergNEF. “Industry is responsible for most of the emissions and industry is moving out of Europe due to high energy prices.”

While average gas prices in Europe are about a third of what they were a year ago, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent prices skyrocketing, they are still about double their 2019 levels. This proved unsustainable for European industrial sectors. The chemical industry reported a 15% drop in first-quarter production from a year earlier, according to trade organization VCI.

At the same time, the renewable energy market peaked this year, mainly due to strong electricity generation from wind turbines. In general, energy production from wind farms, photovoltaics and hydroelectric power stations accounted for a large share of the EU’s energy mix. in the first four months of 2023 from energy production by all fossil fuel power plants.

In fact, some countries set records for solar power generation, although the technology works best in the summer when the sun is stronger and the days are longer. Portugal, for example, generated more than half of its electricity from solar panels for the first time in April.