Latest estimates show that the EU is set to overshoot its collective emission reduction target under the Kyoto Protocol, the European Commission said yesterday (12 November).

A progress report released by the European Environment Agency (EEA) foresees a 13% drop in greenhouse gas emissions below levels in a chosen base year, most often 1990. This would go beyond the collective 8% target of the 15 countries that were EU members at the time of the Kyoto Protocol signature in 1997.

In addition, ten of the twelve member states that joined the Union since the Protocol came into being have since signed up to individual commitments, except for Malta and Cyprus. The report expects that all EU countries except for Austria will meet their individual targets.

The EEA estimates that emissions from the 15 'old' member states fell to 6.2% below Kyoto base-year levels last year. For the entire 27-member bloc, the cuts would amount to 13.6%. But these figures are boosted by diminished industrial activity due to the financial crisis