Dutch greenhouse emissions rose 2.1% last year, after an 8.8% decline in 2020, national statistics office CBS said on Wednesday.

The figures are preliminary and take emissions to 23.9% of the 1990 figures, which is below the ‘Urgenda’ target of more than 25%. The 2020 figures were just in line with the Urgenda limit at 25.5%, the CBS said last month.

In 2019, the Supreme Court ordered the Netherlands to cut pollution by 25% by the end of 2020, compared with 1990 and do more to protect the health of its people. The long-running case was brought by climate collective Urgenda, which argued that the state was not doing enough to meet its Paris agreement commitments.

The CBS said on Wednesday that emissions rose last year because of an increase in the use of gas, following the colder first half of the year. Greenhouse gas emissions from homes, schools, offices and hospitals were up 10% year on year.

Power stations and farming also increased emissions – by an average of 2%. The chilly start to the year meant the horticultural sector, in particular, had to use more energy to heat greenhouses, the CBS said.