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The researchers estimated emissions in the European Union will fall by 1.7% in 2019 compared to 2018, largely thanks to a 10% decline in emissions from coal.
However, the study noted considerable uncertainty over coal emissions, while natural gas and oil use continues to rise.
The US is also forecast to see emissions fall by 1.7%, also largely due to declining coal use.
Meanwhile, China’s emissions are set to increase by 2.6% following growth in coal, oil and natural gas use and cement production.
The report noted that coal continues to dominate global emissions, making up 42% of the total in 2018.
EU green groups have urged the European leaders to commit to much more significant cuts to emissions in the next decade, a theme also stressed by new European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on the opening day of the COP25 climate talks in Madrid.
Climate Action Network Europe director Wendel Trio said current EU leaders were the last generation that could prevent a climate breakdown.
"The EU must propose a substantially increased 2030 climate target in early 2020 to make the Paris Agreement a reality. This must be central to the upcoming European Green Deal," Trio said.
European Investment Bank vice-president Emma Navarro told an audience in Brussels that the next decade "is our last window of opportunity to avoid catastrophic climate change".
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy CEO Markus Tacke is taking part in the COP25 summit. He, understandably, backed the wind industry's role in achieving the emission reduction targets.
"The urgency of accelerating this energy transition was highlighted in the International Energy Agency’s annual outlook, but a rapid cut in emissions would require significantly more ambitious policy action in favour of efficiency and clean energy technologies," Tacke said before the Madrid talks.
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