High-Emitting Business Sectors
Definition
High-Emitting Business Sectors are sectors of the economy that contribute the largest fraction of GHG Emissions.
Selection Process
The TEG identified six macro-sectors for climate change mitigation based on GHG emissions.
In addition, buildings were identified as a critical cross-cutting issue, given their 36% contribution to CO2 emissions in the EU. Buildings are covered in the ‘construction’ and ‘real estate’ NACE codes, but also have relevance to the emissions performance of almost all economic activities.
Information and communications technologies was identified based on the potential to enable emissions reductions in other sectors. It was agreed that professional, scientific and technical activities would also be included when they are necessary for the fulfilment of an environmentally sustainable activity agreed to under the EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy (e.g. energy audits that enable building renovation), but a full evaluation of this sector was not prioritised.
Information and Communication Technologies were added in order to commence investigating sectors that may help to avoid greenhouse gas emissions.
The NACE macro-sectors covered by this phase of the TEG’s work are therefore:
- Agriculture, forestry and fishing
- Manufacturing
- Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply
- Water, sewerage, waste and remediation
- Transportation and storage
- Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)
- Buildings (Construction and real estate activities, with application to other sectors where appropriate)
Sectoral Statistics
GHG emissions, gross value added and employment for sectors considered in the TEG taxonomy, EU-28, 2017
| NACE macro-sector | GHG (Tonne) | Share of GHG | Gross value added (2017) | Employment (2016) | Ratio GHG over Value % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A – Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 520860083 | 14.7% | 1.7% | 4.5% | 8.6 |
| B – Mining and quarrying | 79624367 | 2.3% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 4.6 |
| C – Manufacturing | 846420846 | 23.9% | 16.4% | 13.8% | 1.5 |
| D – Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply | 1072529498 | 30.3% | 1.8% | 0.5% | 16.8 |
| E – Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities left | 163285205 | 4.6% | 0.9% | 0.7% | 5.1 |
| F – Construction | 60058074 | 1.7% | 5.4% | 6.3% | 0.3 |
| H –Transportation and storage | 535602113 | 15.2% | 4.9% | 5% | 3.1 |
| J – Information and communication | 10396009 | 0.3% | 5% | 2.9% | 0.06 |
| L – Real estate activities | 6246240 | 0.2% | 11.2% | 1.1% | 0.01 |
| Total A-F, H, J, L | 3295022435 | 93.2% | 47.8% | 35.2% | 1.9 |
