The EU accounts for only 5% of global CO2 emissions.

Omissions

• The official EDGAR figure (5.8% in 2025) refers to total greenhouse gas emissions (CO2, CH4, N2O, F-gases), not CO2 alone; the EU's share of global fossil CO2 is somewhat higher than 5.8%, so '5% of CO2' slightly understates the CO2-specific share.
• The claim rounds 5.8% down to '5%', a rounding that flatters the rhetorical point that the EU's responsibility is minimal.
• The claim measures emissions on a territorial/production basis; on a consumption basis (emissions embedded in imports) the EU's share of global emissions is higher.
• The second part of the MEP's sentence ('European industry only 1.2%') concerns a different metric (industrial emissions share) and was not verified here.
• EDGAR data are annual and published with a lag; the most recent data available before the 21 October 2026 session cover calendar year 2025.

Sources

• PrimaryEDGAR – Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research, European Commission Joint Research Centre (EDGAR 2026 report)"In 2025, EU27 emissions decreased by 0.2% (-7.5 Mt CO2eq) and the EU27's share of global emissions decreased from 5.9% in 2024 to 5.8% in 2025." Table: EU27 2025 emissions 3127.15 Mton CO2eq, 2025% of world total 5.78; GLOBAL TOTAL 54149.20 Mton CO2eq.
• PrimaryEDGAR – Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research, European Commission Joint Research Centre (EDGAR 2025 report)"In 2024, EU27 emissions decreased by 1.8% (-57.9 Mt CO2eq) and the EU27's share of global emissions decreased from 6.1% in 2023 to 5.9% in 2024." Table: EU27 2024 emissions 3164.66 Mton CO2eq, 2024% of world total 5.95.