Are recent government efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions finally beginning to bear fruit? According to a report published in the Financial Times on Monday, yes.

This comes despite the large contribution to cuts that will have come from the recession this year.

Exactly how much overall emissions fell won’t be known until the agency’s report is released in early October, but according to the FT the IEA will report an unprecedented and “significant” decline.

It’s not the first report showing emissions have fallen because of the recession – for example, European Union emissions are thought to have fallen 1.3 per cent last year for the same reason.

But the IEA says one quarter of last year’s worldwide reduction is due to government regulations – an ‘unprecedented’ proportion, according to IEA chief economist Fatih Birol.

And the governments that contributed most to that 25 per cent or so? Step forward European Union with its ambition carbon reductions targets; the US, with car efficiency standards, and China with its efficiency targets.