Spain sees emissions to 2012 breaching Kyoto limit

Spain on Tuesday predicted on Wednesday that its greenhouse gas emissions in the 2008-12 period will be almost 20 percent above the upper limit it was set in 1990 under the Kyoto Protocol.

The Environment Ministry said emissions would be, on average, 34.45 percent above 1990 levels, the benchmark year set by Kyoto, under which Spain was allowed to emit 15 percent more in 2008-12 because it was not considered fully industrialized.

It will now exceed that limit by 19.45 percent.

However, Spain has long planned to bridge a gap of 22 percent above Kyoto limits by offsetting 20 percentage points by purchasing emissions rights from less industrialized countries, and another two points by investing in carbon-capturing forests.

The Environment Ministry added in a statement that emissions in 2008 - the last year for which figures are available - emissions fell by 7.7 percent from the year before to the equivalent of 405.05 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.

The Ministry said the drop was due to renewable energy sources gradually replacing coal in the generation mix, and less fuel being consumed by transport and industries like cement manufacturing.