Recession helps cut EU greenhouse gas levels: agency

RUSSELS (AFP) – Greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union fell for the fourth year running in 2008, thanks to the economic recession, the European Environment Agency (EAA) said Monday.

The official EEA estimates showed a 1.5 percent drop in emissions from the 27-nation European Union as a whole and a 1.3 percent drop from its 15 older and richer members.

"The vast majority of the decline in emissions in 2008 was due to lower CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion in the energy, industry and transport sectors," the environment agency said in a statement.

The reductions "reflect the effects of the global economic recession which began in 2008, which resulted in reduced industrial output and reduced energy consumption by industry, and correspondingly reduced freight transport," it added.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090831/sc_afp/euenvironmenteconomy/print