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Environmental tax revenue in Cyprus reached €718.72 million in 2024, according to new figures released by Eurostat, as environmental tax receipts across the European Union increased to a record €371.9 billion.
The EU total was up from €350.4 billion in 2023, an annual increase of 6.1 per cent, equivalent to an additional €21.4 billion in revenue.
Across the bloc, 22 EU member states recorded higher environmental tax revenue than a year earlier. Based on Eurostat's data, Cyprus posted an increase of around 6.9 per cent, placing it among the countries reporting annual growth.
Romania recorded the largest rise at 21.7 per cent, followed by Lithuania (13.9 per cent) and Poland (12.7 per cent). Hungary also registered one of the strongest increases at 12.2 per cent.
Only five member states reported lower environmental tax revenue in 2024. Sweden recorded the steepest decline at 17.7 per cent, followed by Slovakia (6.1 per cent), Finland (3.8 per cent), Greece (3.7 per cent) and Bulgaria (2.3 per cent).
Energy taxes continued to account for the largest share of environmental tax receipts across the EU. Revenue from this category reached €287 billion in 2024, compared with €269.3 billion a year earlier.
Transport taxes generated €67 billion, up from €64 billion in 2023, while taxes related to pollution and the use of natural resources totalled €17.9 billion, compared with €17.2 billion the previous year.
Although environmental tax revenue increased in monetary terms, Eurostat said its importance relative to the overall economy has declined over the past decade. Environmental taxes represented 2.1 per cent of EU gross domestic product in 2024, compared with 2.5 per cent in 2014.
During the same period, environmental taxes also accounted for a smaller share of total government revenue from taxes and social contributions, falling from 6.1 per cent in 2014 to 5.1 per cent in 2024.
