Food Packaging — Emissions in Europe

Europe: Food Packaging — Emissions was 37,491 kt in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
37,491 kt
Change on year
down 0.0%
Rank
5th
of 32 groups
All-time high
53,226 kt
in 2007
All-time low
34,899 kt
in 1990
Years of data
34
1990–2023

Food Packaging — Emissions in Europe, 1990–2023

020.0k40.0k60.0k1990200620231990: 34.9k kt1991: 41.5k kt1992: 41.1k kt1993: 42.2k kt1994: 39.9k kt1995: 45.2k kt1996: 48.0k kt1997: 50.1k kt1998: 45.8k kt1999: 46.3k kt2000: 47.9k kt2001: 49.1k kt2002: 49.8k kt2003: 50.4k kt2004: 50.0k kt2005: 49.7k kt2006: 50.4k kt2007: 53.2k kt2008: 51.1k kt2009: 44.2k kt2010: 46.4k kt2011: 46.7k kt2012: 45.2k kt2013: 44.0k kt2014: 42.6k kt2015: 42.7k kt2016: 40.7k kt2017: 40.8k kt2018: 40.5k kt2019: 38.8k kt2020: 37.3k kt2021: 40.3k kt2022: 37.5k kt2023: 37.5k kt

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in kt.

Analysis

Europe recorded 37,491 kt for food packaging — emissions in 2023.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 14.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, food packaging — emissions in Europe peaked at 53,226 kt in 2007 and was at its lowest, 34,899 kt, in 1990.

Europe ranks 5th of 32 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.

Food Packaging — Emissions in Europe, year by year

Annual values for Food Packaging — Emissions (CO2) in Europe, 1990 to 2023.
Year kt Change
1990 34,899 kt —
1991 41,475 kt +18.8%
1992 41,055 kt -1.0%
1993 42,192 kt +2.8%
1994 39,925 kt -5.4%
1995 45,174 kt +13.1%
1996 47,955 kt +6.2%
1997 50,084 kt +4.4%
1998 45,777 kt -8.6%
1999 46,284 kt +1.1%
2000 47,921 kt +3.5%
2001 49,096 kt +2.5%
2002 49,761 kt +1.4%
2003 50,406 kt +1.3%
2004 50,041 kt -0.7%
2005 49,657 kt -0.8%
2006 50,434 kt +1.6%
2007 53,226 kt +5.5%
2008 51,051 kt -4.1%
2009 44,156 kt -13.5%
2010 46,373 kt +5.0%
2011 46,693 kt +0.7%
2012 45,181 kt -3.2%
2013 43,976 kt -2.7%
2014 42,584 kt -3.2%
2015 42,701 kt +0.3%
2016 40,735 kt -4.6%
2017 40,818 kt +0.2%
2018 40,512 kt -0.7%
2019 38,776 kt -4.3%
2020 37,322 kt -3.7%
2021 40,262 kt +7.9%
2022 37,508 kt -6.8%
2023 37,491 kt -0.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 43,482 kt 34,899 kt 50,084 kt 10
2000s 49,575 kt 44,156 kt 53,226 kt 10
2010s 42,835 kt 38,776 kt 46,693 kt 10
2020s 38,146 kt 37,322 kt 40,262 kt 4

Countries ranked near Europe

  1. 2 China, mainland 92,446 kt compare
  2. 2 Türkiye 3,200 kt compare
  3. 3 Viet Nam 2,277 kt compare
  4. 3 OECD 69,267 kt compare
  5. 4 Russian Federation 12,362 kt compare
  6. 5 Japan 7,223 kt compare
  7. 6 Germany 5,271 kt compare
  8. 6 Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) 396.22 kt compare
  9. 7 Brazil 5,251 kt compare
  10. 7 Iran (Islamic Republic of) 193.8 kt compare
  11. 8 South Africa 4,499 kt compare

See the full ranking of 168 places →

More climate change data for Europe

All data for Europe →

Frequently asked questions

What is food packaging — emissions in Europe?
Food packaging — emissions in Europe was 37,491 kt in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest food packaging — emissions recorded in Europe?
The highest recorded value was 53,226 kt in 2007.
What is the lowest food packaging — emissions recorded in Europe?
The lowest recorded value was 34,899 kt in 1990.
How does Europe rank for food packaging — emissions?
Europe ranks 5th out of 32 groups with data for 2023.
Is food packaging — emissions rising or falling in Europe?
Over the last ten years it is down 14.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Europe data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Food Packaging — Emissions (CO2). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Food Packaging — Emissions in Europe. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 27 September 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/food-packaging-emissions-co2/europe/

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About this data

Indicator
Food Packaging — Emissions (CO2)
Unit
kt
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
168 places, 5,039 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed

The FAOSTAT domain on Emissions from Pre- and post- agricultural production includes the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and related activity data, generated from pre- and post-agriculture production stages of the agri-food systems. Data are computed following the Tier 1 methods of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines for National greenhouse gas (GHG) Inventories (IPCC, 1996; 1997; 2000; 2002; 2006; 2014). The domain includes methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), carbon dioxide (CO2) and CO2 equivalent (CO2eq) emissions from the above activities as well as the aggregate fluorinated gases (F-gases) emissions. Estimates are available by country, with global coverage and are updated annually.The FAOSTAT domain disseminates information estimates of CH4, N2O, CO2 emissions, F-gases, their aggregates in CO2eq in units of kilotonnes (kt, or 10^6 kg), and the underlying activity data. CO2eq emissions are computed by using the IPCC Fifth Assessment report global warming potentials, AR5 (IPCC, 2014). Data are available for most countries and territories, for standard FAOSTAT regional aggregations, and for Annex I and non-Annex I country groups.