Brussels, 29/04/2002 (Agence Europe) - Although the EU managed to stabilise its emissions by the year 2000, recent data released by the European Environment Agency (EEA), showed that C02 and other greenhouse gas emissions had risen, contrary to the reduction aimed for in the Kyoto Protocol. The EU has made progress towards reaching our Kyoto target of minus 8% of greenhouse gases between 2008-2012 but there is good reason for sounding the alarm bells, especially in certain countries - Spain at their head (more than double the 15% increase permitted), Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands and Portugal -whose emissions are constantly increasing despite the limits fixed at the time they decided to share the burden with Member States in 1998. The figures published by the EEA on Monday are founded on an inventory of greenhouse gas emissions in 2000 that indicate that they were 3.5% lower than in the base year 1990. (0.5% for C02). The Union has therefore respected the commitment it made at the Framework Convention on climate change although emissions rose between 1999 and 2000. For this year, the last year for which data is available for the whole Union - the EEA outlines that C02 emissions (which account for 80% of total greenhouse gas emissions in the Union) rose by 0.5% (electricity production and warming is mainly to blame) whilst the increase in all gases increased by 0.3% (due to expansion of fossil fuel electricity production in the United Kingdom). Domingo Jiménez-Beltran EEA indicated that these figures clearly showed that the progress accomplished in view of the Kyoto objectives declined slightly, where as the Union was half-way through the first part of its Protocol commitment period that was due to begin in 2008. Commissioner Margot Wallström pointed out that the Union had met its obligations declaring, "It is worrying though that - we need to reverse this trend again. Many Member States still have to make substantial efforts to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions… Without further efforts and additional policies and measures at both European and national level the European Union will not be able to reach its target ".