In January 2026, emissions from the power generation sector amounted to 1.68 million tons, down 5.5% compared to January 2025 due to reduced emissions from lignite plants, but the highest in the last 6 months. Emissions from gas plants exceeded last year’s (0.9 million tons, 53.6% of the total). The carbon intensity was 265.6 g CO2/kWh, an improvement compared to December but higher than the average carbon intensity for 2025 (264.2 g CO2/kWh).
Monthly emissions from each power plant in Greece (that is subject to ETS reporting) are estimated based on the latest available electricity production data (January 2026 for the interconnected network and December 2025 for the non-interconnected islands) and the annual CO2 emissions from ETS (2024), following the methodology and assumptions presented here.
Carbon intensity of electricity production
In January 2026, the carbon intensity of electricity production stood at 265.6 g CO2/kWh, down 16.4% compared to December 2025 but up 0.5% compared to the average carbon intensity for 2025. Compared to January last year, carbon intensity was 23% lower, mainly due to reduced emissions from lignite-fired power plants.
RES curtailments remained low this month, estimated at 5.89 GWh based on IPTO’s ISP2 and ISP3 forecasts, and therefore their impact on carbon intensity is limited. More specifically, if the 5.89 GWh of curtailed energy had been used to reduce production from lignite and gas plants, the carbon intensity in January would have decreased by 2.8%, reaching 258.1 g CO2/kWh.
Emissions per fuel
CO2 emissions from power plants using fossil fuels reached 1.68 million tons in January, a six-month high. They were 5.5% lower than in January last year but exceeded emissions in January 2023 and January 2024.
More than half of this January’s emissions came from gas-fired power plants, whose emissions reached 0.898 million tons, exceeding those of January 2025 (0.892 million tons).
Emissions from lignite plants in January reached 0.52 million tons (31.5% of the total), down 19.8% from last year. This change was the main reason for the decrease in total emissions from the electricity production sector compared to last year.
Finally, oil-fired plants on non-interconnected islands are estimated to have emitted 0.21 million tons (12.3% of the total), an increase of 11% compared to January last year.
Emissions per thermal power plant
In terms of the breakdown of emissions by power plant, the lignite power plant of Agios Dimitrios ranked first in the first month of 2026, with emissions of 0.43 million tons, accounting for 26.5% of the sector’s total emissions. Furthermore, emissions from Agios Dimitrios in January this year were up 1.7% compared to January last year, due to slightly higher electricity generation (273.5 GWh in January 2026 – 269 GWh in January 2025).
In second place was Agios Nikolaos II, fueled by gas, with emissions of 0.17 million tons, while in third place was the gas plant of Megalopolis V with emissions of 0.13 million tons, moving up one place compared to January 2025.
The top five polluters also included Lavrio IV-V and the Ptolemaida 5 lignite plant with emissions of 0.11 million tons and 0.097 million tons, respectively.
On the non-interconnected islands, the five largest polluters were the stations in Crete and Rhodes. Specifically for the stations in Crete, Atherinolakkos had emissions of 0.058 million tons, Linoperamata 0.037 million tons, and Chania 0.019 million tons. On the island of Rhodes, the Rhodes station had emissions of 0.015 million tons, while the N. Rhodes station had emissions of 0.013 million tons.
Sectoral emissions – comparison with NECP
In the final revised National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) submitted to the European Commission in December 2024, emissions from the sector for 2025 should not have exceeded 10.2 million tons, while for 2030 they should not exceed 4 million tons. Assuming a linear reduction in emissions between 2025 and 2030, it follows that the carbon budget for the power sector for 2026 should not exceed 9 million tons.
So far for 2026, the sector’s emissions are estimated at 1.68 million tons, or 18.7% of the annual carbon budget for the year. Therefore, 7.28 million tons remain until the end of the year according to the above forecast.
You can explore how electricity sector emissions evolved since 2013, as well as find analyses from previous months here.
