Carbon dioxide emissions from energy use in the European Union fell by 2.8 percent last year, thanks to reduced use of natural gas following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Eurostat reported on Friday.

The European Union's statistical agency said in a report that CO2 emissions from the 27 EU nations was almost 2.4 billion tonnes last year.

Carbon dioxide emissions from energy use are a major contributor to global warming and account for around 75 percent of all man-made greenhouse gas emissions in the EU.

While natural gas use was down, by around 13 percent, emissions from coal and oil were up slightly "reflecting, among other things, the efforts invested by EU countries to achieve the voluntary gas demand reduction target introduced in August 2022," as the conflict in Ukraine hit supplies.

According to Eurostat, the fall in energy-related emissions also varied greatly from country to country.

The Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium saw the biggest falls, with the Netherlands leading the way with a 12.8 percent reduction.

At the other end of the scale, Bulgaria registered the biggest increase in CO2 emissions of 12 percent, followed by Portugal and Malta.

The European Union has ambitious plans to become a "climate neutral" economy by 2050, with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.