The European Commission said after doing a good job for a decade after 1990, EU countries had allowed emissions of gases blamed for warming the climate to rise again in 2000 and 2001.

It warned that unless reversed, the trend meant the EU -- the biggest defender of the Kyoto accord -- would miss its target to trim greenhouse gas emissions by eight percent from 1990 levels by 2008-2012.

The European Environment Agency (EEA) said the biggest factor to blame for the EU's relapse was "a runaway increase in emissions from transport, especially road transport".

On current trends the EU would cut its emissions of climate-warming gases by just 0.5 percent from 1990 levels, both the EEA and commission said in separate reports.

Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstrom said she had written to all 15 EU governments to urge them to identify additional measures they intend to take to meet the Kyoto targets.

The reports coincided with a meeting in Milan of signatories to Kyoto's parent treaty, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which is scheduled to run until December 12.

The United States remains part of the UNFCCC, although it has abandoned Kyoto. Russia has yet to ratify the 1997 protocol, and its backing is essential for the agreement to come into force. That prospect grew dimmer Tuesday when a senior Kremlin official said Russia would not support the protocol in its present form.

Greenhouse gases are blamed for trapping the sun's heat rather than let it radiate safely out into space.

Scientists conclude that this is stoking a gradual rise in the earth's surface temperature that will have have lasting effects on the planet's delicate climate mechanism.

Wallstrom said the uncertainty surrounding the future of Kyoto was no reason for Europe to relax its efforts to combat global warming.

"The Kyoto Protocol is not dead. It has maybe held its breath for a little while as we are all waiting for the Russian ratification," she told a news conference.

"I believe that Russia will ratify. We are held hostage to an internal political process there," the Swedish commissioner said prior to the Russian comments on Kyoto.

"But the best thing we can do... is to show we are serious about our commitments to the Kyoto Protocol."

The reports said that of the 15 EU members, only Sweden and Britain will do better than their targets, with a reduction of 13.9 percent and an increase of 0.7 percent (compared with targets of -12.5 and +4 percent respectively).

At the other end of the scale, Denmark, Spain, Ireland, Austria and Belgium will all overshoot their targets by at least a fifth, according to the projections.

The forecasts do not take into account a planned EU emissions trading scheme, due to start in 2005.

Nor do they factor in a planned international version of this market that is one of three "Kyoto mechanisms" which signatories can use to meet their pollution goals.

Wallstrom bemoaned the surge in emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide from cars in Europe, despite work to develop cleaner engines.

She said the EU's executive arm was planning to review a voluntary agreement with car companies from Europe, Japan and South Korea by the end of this year aimed at coming up with greener engines.

"We will try to maintain the voluntary agreement but of course we always have reserved the right to come back with legislation if we see that is more effective," the commissioner said.

"But both sides are keen to continue with the voluntary agreement."

SPACE.WIRE