Greenhouse gas emissions are rising in more than half the countries of the EU, according to official figures yesterday that threaten to undermine its call for the rest of the world to join a new climate-change treaty.

European leaders including Tony Blair and Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, have led the call for global targets to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, but 14 of the 27 EU countries are pumping out higher annual levels of CO2, says the European Environment Agency.

Spain is the worst offender among the large countries, emitting 15.4 million tonnes more CO2 in 2005 than the previous year, a rise of 3.6 per cent.

The 15 pre2004 members of the EU agreed to cut their greenhouse gases by 8 per cent by 2012 under Kyoto, but have so far achieved a cut of 2 per cent, a rate of progress causing deep concern among campaign groups. EU leaders are pinning their hopes on the second phase of their carbon-trading scheme, from 2008 to 2012, even though it failed to make cuts in its first two years.

Stavros Dimas, the EU environment commissioner, cautioned that “many” EU countries needed to act fast to start cutting CO2 so that the Kyoto promise could be met.

Mrs Merkel led the EU in agreeing a target of 20 per cent reduction on 1990 levels by 2020. At the G8 summit this month she called on the world’s other big polluters to join the EU in aiming for 50 per cent cuts by 2050.

In Germany, the EU’s largest economy, emissions dropped by 2.3 per cent in 2005 as it reduced methane in the waste sector, cleaned up power plants in eastern Germany and introduced more diesel cars and an eco-tax that helped road transport fumes to fall.

Finland achieved the biggest drop in 2005, with emissions falling 14.6 per cent, as demand for heating was lower than usual in a mild winter. Emissions by France fell by 0.5 per cent, putting it on course for exceeding its Kyoto target, with cuts of 1.9 per cent so far over 1990 compared with a 2012 goal of zero per cent.

British emissions were down by 0.5 per cent, leaving it ahead of its 2012 objective for a cut of 12.5 per cent over 1990, with reduction so far at 15.7 per cent.

But Spain, which was allowed to make a 15 per cent increase in emissions under Kyoto in recognition of its growing economy, had registered a 52.3 per cent cumulative increase by the end of 2005.

Since Spaing signed up to Kyoto, its economy has been in unprecedented growth and its use of energy has been rising quickly. The country has undertaken a massive building boom, constructing an average of 700,000 new homes in each of the past three years and ploughing billions into new infrastructure. There are more cars using Spain’s brand-new highways and electricity use has been growing sharply.

Large parts of the south of Spain have been installing air conditioning and demand is projected to keep on rising. Additionally, Spain’s population has surged from 40 million in 2000 to more than 45 million today as a result of massive immigration. There has been little public pressure on the Government to improve the situation. Polls show that global warming does not figure among Spaniards’ top concerns.

The country is making some efforts, however. It plans to derive 12 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2010 and legislation that came into effect this year makes it compulsory for all new buildings to have solar panels.

The current Government says that it did manage to reduce greenhouse gas emissions during last year – by about 4 per cent – and has promised to unveil a new “national strategy” to combat climate change before its term ends in March. But electricity use continues to rise sharply at a time when Spain is due to phase out its nuclear power stations – which currently produce about a third of the country’s electricity.

Spain has already admitted that it will not meet its 2012 target, but has promised to be no more than 15 per cent higher. Experts say that even this goal is going to be tough to reach.

Times Recommends

• 'New York has lost its edge'
• Copenhagen will fail – and quite right too
• More than 17,000 new underwater species found