In March 2025, CO2 emissions from fossil fuel power plants were 1.01 million tons, down 41% from February. A total of 4.5 million tons were emitted from the power generation sector in the first quarter of 2025. Emissions from fossil gas plants for the first quarter were the highest of the decade at 2.36 million tons. Two lignite plants and three gas plants made up the top five polluters. The power sector has already met 44% of the available carbon budget for 2025 (10.2 million tons) based on the revised final NECP and is currently off track to achieve the target.
The monthly emissions from each power plant in Greece are estimated based on the latest available electricity production data (March 2025 for the interconnected network and February 2025 for the non-interconnected islands) and the annual CO2 emissions from ETS (2023), following the methodology and assumptions presented here.
In March 2025 carbon intensity[1] was 225 g CO2/kWh, 33% lower compared to the average of the previous quarter (333 g CO2/kWh for the period December-January-February) and the second lowest historically after October 2024 (212 g CO2/kWh). This decline is due to the large drop in fossil gas and lignite in the last month compared to the previous two, and in the large increase of RES, which took the lead in electricity production.
In March 2025, CO2 emissions from fossil fuel power plants were 1.01 million tons, down from the previous month and at levels similar to the monthly emissions of September and October 2024 (1.18 million tons and 0.94 million tons respectively).
Despite an improvement in carbon intensity in March, cumulative emissions in the first quarter of 2025 reached 4.5 million tons, the highest in three years. Compared to the first quarter of 2024, there was a 23% increase in emissions (+0.8 million tons), which was primarily due to an increase in fossil gas use. Lignite and oil emissions remained at levels similar to the corresponding period of 2024, with small changes (+2.6% for lignite and -0.6% for oil).
Emissions from fossil gas plants were 2.36 million tons for the first quarter of 2025, ending up the highest in the last decade and at levels similar to emissions from lignite plants for the corresponding period in 2022 (2.43 million tons). They also account for 54% of total power generation emissions, a figure that has been steadily increasing since the corresponding quarter of 2023.
Emissions from lignite-fired plants for the first quarter were 1.52 million tons, close to 2024 emissions for the same period (1.48 million tons). Lignite’s share of total emissions was 35%, showing a decline of more than 50% over the past decade for the first quarter of each year.
Emissions from oil-fired plants on non-interconnected islands remained stable at 0.52 million tons for the first three months of 2025.
In terms of the distribution of emissions among power plants, Agios Dimitrios lignite power plant remained in the first place for the first quarter of 2025, with emissions of 1.07 million tons (70.3% of total emissions from lignite-fired plants). Two of the plant’s five units were in operation in March producing 163 GWh (Ag. Dimitrios III and IV which both cover Kozani’s district heating system). In second place was the Ptolemaida 5 lignite plant with emissions of 0.43 million tons and producing 14.05 GWh.
The remaining three out of the top five largest polluters for the first quarter of 2025 were three fossil gas plants, Agios Nikolaos II (0.39 million tons), Megalopolis V (0.38 million tons) and Lavrion IV-V (0.3 million tons).
In non-interconnected islands, three out of the top five polluters were Crete’s oil-fired power stations Atherinolakos, Linoperamata and the Chania station, with emissions of 0.12, 0.09 and 0.04 million tons respectively. The other two places in the top five largest oil-fired polluters were taken by the two plants in Rhodes with a total of 0.08 million tons of CO2 emissions.
According to the revised National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) submitted in January 2025 to the European Commission, emissions in the electricity sector are expected to decrease significantly in the coming years. In particular, the target for 2030 is a maximum of 4 million tons for emissions from all three fuels (lignite, fossil gas, oil). This represents a significant reduction (-91%) compared to 2013, the year in which thermal power plants started to bear the cost of the carbon they emitted through the Emissions Trading System (ETS).
In the final NECP the estimated emissions for 2025 are 10.2 million tons, 5.05 million tons, less than in 2024 (15.25 million tons[2]). In the first quarter of 2025, an estimated 4.5 million tons were emitted from the power sector, 44% of the available carbon budget for the year. The remaining carbon budget for the following 9 months of 2025 is 5.69 million tons, well below the ¾ of the total budget, indicating that the power sector needs to make significant steps to be on track to meet its 2025 target.
You can see the evolution of the electricity sector emissions since 2013, as well as read the analyses from previous months here.
[1] Carbon intensity is defined as the ratio of emissions from the three fuels (lignite, gas and oil, including CHP) to the country’s total electricity production from the interconnected grid and the non-interconnected islands.
[2] The 2024 emissions are the estimated emissions based on the assumptions reported here, as the official data from the EU Registry have not yet been released.