EU carbon emissions continue to fall

Brussels - EU greenhouse gas emissions have fallen for the third consecutive year, according to the emissions inventory compiled by the European Environment Agency for 2007, the latest year for which complete data is available.

The main reasons for the emissions fall in 2007 - totalling 64 million tonnes of CO 2-equivalent were declines in emissions from households, due to warmer weather, and from manufacturing industries and iron and steel production. By contrast, emissions related to refrigeration and air conditioning rose.

Most sectors recorded emission reductions between the base year and 2007. Emissions from industrial processes were down 14.1%, from energy without transport by 7.4%, from use of solvents and other products 23.7%, from agriculture 11.3% and from waste 38.9%. By contrast, emissions from transport in general rose by 23.7% and from road transport by 24.7%.

The EEA data shows that EU-15 emissions dropped by 1.6% from 2006 while the economy grew by 2.7 %. The reduction takes EU-15 emissions to 5.0% below their levels in the base year (1990 in most cases). This puts the EU-15 on track to meet its Kyoto Protocol target of reducing emissions in the 2008-2012 period to an average of 8% below the base year level.

Recent emission reductions among the EU-15 give us the confidence that we will successfully reach our Kyoto target, according to Stavros Dimas, the European Environment Commissioner. The progress, he added, will help towards creating a framework for worldwide emission reductions in the future.

"The downward emissions trend over the last three years indicates that the pro-active climate policies and measures taken nationally and at EU level since Kyoto are now starting to pay off," said Dimas. "The climate and energy package adopted last month ensures that even greater reductions will be made in the coming years."

EU-27 emissions fell 1.2% in the year. They consequently stood 12.5% below levels in the base year, which for some Member States differs from 1990, and 9.3% below levels in 1990 itself. The reduction against 2006, totalling 59.4 million tonnes of CO 2-equivalent, was attributed to broadly the same reasons as for the EU-15. Emission increases in the EU-27 were recorded in transport, cement production and public electricity and heat production, as well as refrigeration and air conditioning.

There is no EU-27 emissions target under the Kyoto Protocol since the EU-12 were not Member States at the time. However, all of the EU-12 have individual Kyoto commitments to cut emissions to 6% or 8% below base year levels, except Cyprus and Malta which have no targets.