VALLETTA, May 8 (Xinhua) -- The figures released by Eurostat on Wednesday show that Malta has one of the highest increases in carbon dioxide emissions from 2017 to 2018, despite a downward average trend in the rest of Europe.

Carbon dioxide emissions in European countries decreased by 2.5 percent on average between 2017 and 2018. Malta was one of only eight countries to register an increase: 6.7 percent, the figures showed.

Latvia, Estonia, Luxembourg, Poland, Slovakia, Finland and Lithuania had also increased their CO2 output.

The so-called "greenhouse gas" carbon dioxide emissions are a major contributing factor in global warming, accounting for 80 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in the EU.

Malta's emissions are primarily caused by petrol and diesel-powered vehicles used on the island. Malta has consistently failed to reach EU emission reduction targets since 2013.