EU:Emissions of greenhouse gases in the EU fell in 2005, reversing an upward trend that was damaging faith in the bloc's ability to tackle climate change.
New figures show emissions of CO2 within the EU15 decreased by 0.8 per cent between 2004 and 2005, the first reduction for two years. Lower emissions reported by Germany, the Netherlands and Finland in 2005 were the principal reason for the reported 36 million-tonne annual reduction.
The drop in 2005 means the original 15 EU members that signed the Kyoto Protocol in 1998 are in a much better position to meet a target to cut emissions by 8 per cent between 2008 and 2012. In 2005 emissions were 1.5 per cent below 1990 levels, which is the base year used in the international agreement to tackle climate change.
German chancellor Angela Merkel and the European Commission are expected to use the fall in EU emissions to lobby the US, India and China to sign up to a global mechanism to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
World leaders are scheduled to hold talks on climate change next month at a G8 meeting in Germany, which will set the political direction for a successor to the Kyoto Protocol after 2012.
"Obviously these statistics strengthen our hand in the talks because one of the arguments the US has been making is that Europe is not meeting its targets to curb emissions," said a spokeswoman for EU environment commissioner Stavros Dimas.
"These figures show that it is possible to reduce emissions without hurting economic performance," she added.
The emissions statistics for 2004-2005 were released by the European Environment Agency (EEA) in preliminary form yesterday because of what the agency described as "growing public and political interest in the issue of climate change".
They have been compiled as part of the EU's annual report on CO2 emissions to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The EEA welcomed the fall in emissions but urged caution.
"The drop in emissions, while positive, must be viewed in context. It represents a decrease over only one year and may not be representative of the trend over a longer period," said Prof Jacqueline McGlade, executive director of the EEA.
The EEA referenced a shift from coal to gas in the production of public electricity and heat in Germany as one of the main reasons for the decrease. Finland and the Netherlands also reported emissions reductions by using less fossil fuels.
However, the Republic remains one of the worst performers in the EU, reporting a 1.87 per cent increase in greenhouse gas emissions between 2004 and 2005.
The figures show the Republic pumped out 69.945 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2005, an increase of 1.2 million tonnes on the previous year.