Reuters 18 Apr 08;
LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. and European Union emissions of greenhouse gases fell in 2006, data published this month on a U.N. Web site show, offering some positive news amid a global picture of rising emissions.
President George W. Bush said this week he wanted U.S. emissions to peak by 2025.
Industrialized countries usually pare their energy use per unit of output year on year, as businesses try to save on costs through efficiency measures, thereby curbing carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels.
But overall emissions can still rise because of economic growth and other factors including the weather.
The EU data were dated April 15 and are not officially published until Monday. The U.S. report was dated April 10.
The data showed that in 2006 U.S. greenhouse gas emissions fell by 1.3 percent and EU emissions by 0.3 percent. In 2005 U.S. emissions rose by 0.6 percent and EU emissions fell by 0.4 percent.
Globally, greenhouse gas emissions are rising at about 3 percent a year, especially because rapid economic growth in China and India is fuelling massive demand for energy from high carbon-emitting coal-fired power plants.
The data are published here
