Wastewater treatment projects accounted for the largest share of environmental protection investments across the European Union in 2025, according to new estimates from Eurostat.

The agency reported that wastewater treatment represented 37.7% of all environmental protection investments last year, ahead of waste management (27.3%) and air and climate protection (11.2%). Overall, EU member states invested an estimated €79 billion in environmental protection assets in 2025, equal to 0.4% of the bloc's gross domestic product and 1.9% of total economy-wide investments.

Private industry accounted for the majority of spending, with corporations investing €49.6 billion, or 62.7% of the total, in technologies and infrastructure designed to reduce environmental impacts from industrial operations. These investments included wastewater treatment plants, maintenance and repair of sewage treatment facilities, air pollution control equipment, waste collection and treatment systems and other environmental protection technologies.

The remaining 37.3% of environmental protection investments came from government agencies and nonprofit organizations. Eurostat said the figures reflect investments in assets that provide environmental protection services, including projects aimed at improving wastewater treatment and reducing pollution from industrial and municipal sources.