Spain 'to miss air quality targets'

The Spanish environment ministry announced on Wednesday (February 3rd) that it will fail to hit its carbon dioxide emissions reduction targets set out in the Kyoto protocol.

Although emissions in the country fell by 7.7 per cent in 2008 compared with the previous year, Spain anticipates that its greenhouse gas output will be almost 20 per cent above 1990 levels at the end of the 2008-12 period.

Due to the nation's low level of industrialisation at the time of the Kyoto agreement, Spain was granted permission to emit 15 per cent more greenhouse gases during the four-year timeframe.

However, rapid economic growth has resulted in emissions rising more quickly, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Earlier this week, AFP revealed that France is on track to exceed its Kyoto target. The country reported a 0.6 per cent drop in carbon output in 2008 compared with the previous 12 months.

Under the international agreement, France must keep its emissions levels at the same rate or lower than those in 1990 during the 2008-12 period.

Posted by Joseph Hutton