EU emissions down in 2013

BRUSSELS, May 7 (UPI) -- Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels declined by more than 2 percent for members of the European Union, the EU's statistical office said Wednesday.

Eurostat released estimates of CO2 emissions for the 28 members of the European Union. It said CO2 emissions declined by 2.5 percent in 2013, compared with a drop of 1.6 percent the previous year.

For individual member states, Eurostat said Germany had the highest level of CO2 emissions last year, followed by the United Kingdom and France. Together, the top seven emitters accounted for 77 percent of all CO2 emission for the 28 members of the EU last year.

Nevertheless, the statistics agency said CO2 emissions from the burning of fossil fuels declined for every member state between 2012 and 2013 expect for Denmark, Estonia, Portugal, Germany, France and Poland.

Member states reporting the largest decreases in emissions were Cyprus, with a 14.7 percent decline year-on-year, Romania, with a 14.6 percent decline and Spain, with a 12.6 percent decline.

Members of the EU by 2020 are obliged to cut emissions by 20 percent of the 1990s benchmark and increase the share of renewable energy on their grids by 20 percent.

Eurostat said CO2 emissions are the primary contributor to global climate change and account for 80 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions from member states.