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Copenhagen (pte042/06.05.2003/16:00) - Greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union have increased for a second consecutive year.
The latest assessment by the European Environmental Agency http://org.eea.eu.int , shows that it will be harder for the EU to meet its pledge of reducing emissions by eight per cent compared to 1990 by 2012.
In 2001 emissions were one per cent higher than the year before. According to first data, the cold winter may have been partly responsible for the burning of more fossil fuels in the European Union that year. The transport industry also contributed to higher emissions.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) made up 82 per cent of total emissions, with the proportion of CO2 climbing by 1.6 per cent between 2000 and 2001.
While it was originally estimated that the amount of CO2 emissions would sink by 0.5 per cent in 2000 (compared to 1990), revised findings show that the amount stayed the same that year and later increased.
CO2 emissions caused by electricity and heating systems increased by 1.5 per cent between 2000 and 2001, while those resulting from transport rose by 1.3 per cent.
Emissions grew significantly in Finland (7.3 per cent) and Austria (4.8 per cent), where the cold winter is expected to have played a role. Ireland, Spain and Portugal remain furthest from the EU goal to reduce emissions, with emissions in Ireland climbing by 31 per cent since the reference year 1990.
The EEA intends to publish its analysis of emissions data and trends, as well as its prognoses for 2010 in autumn this year. The current report can be downloaded at http://reports.eea.eu.int/technical_report_2003_95/en .
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