Average carbon dioxide emissions of new cars sold in the European Union fell 2.6 percent last year, beating goals set for 2015 as part of efforts to slow climate change, the European Environment Agency (EEA) said on Wednesday. Average emissions slipped to 123.4 grammes of carbon dioxide per kilometre, below a 2015 goal of 130 grammes that was already reached in 2013 with 126.7 grammes, the Copenhagen-based EEA said in a report. The most carbon efficient cars were bought in the Netherlands, Greece and Portugal with the least efficient in Estonia, Latvia and Bulgaria, it said. The EU has set a goal of 95 grammes per km by 2021 to help limit global warming. "On past trends, we'd expect missions to keep decreasing," Martin Adam, head of the EEA unit for air pollution, transport and noise, told Reuters. The 2014 decline was mainly because of more efficient cars rather than because Europeans, drained by years of recession or weak economic growth, could only afford small vehicles that burn less fuel, he said. European Union car registrations rose almost six percent last year to 12.5 million, ending declines since a pre-recession peak of 15.5 million in 2007. In January, the industry association AWEA said the 2014 rise was thanks to government incentives, tax breaks and a consumer shift to cheaper brands like Dacia and Skoda.