Steam rises from the Weisweiler coal-fired power plant near Inden, Germany, on Feb. 16, 2019. Germany recently committed to fully phasing out coal-fired power production by 2038, according to a roadmap proposed by a government-sponsored commission.

(Maja Hitij/Getty Images)

At a Glance

The decrease in emissions from fossil fuels averaged 2.2 percent a year from 2005 to 2015.The countries that saw emissions decline the most were those with the most energy and climate policies.The use of less fossil fuel and more renewable sources for energy production caused about half of the reductions.

Eighteen countries, including the United States, Great Britain and several European Union members, have seen a decline in their carbon emissions from fossil fuels for at least a decade, a new analysis found.

The results of the work by an international team of researchers have been published in the journal.

"New scientific research on climate change tends to ring the alarm bells ever more loudly. Our findings add a thin sliver of hope. It is possible for countries to peak and then decline their emissions year in year out," said Charlie Wilson, one of the researchers from the University of East Anglia.

"Eighteen countries so far have shown us how concerted policy ambition and action on energy efficiency, renewables, and climate targets can work. Now we must make sure these early precedents become the rule not the exception. ," Wilson added in a statement.

(MORE: Vital Clouds Might Disappear and Accelerate Global Warming If Emissions Reach This Tipping Point, Study Says)

The team looked at what led to the decrease, which , in those countries, according to a news release about the study.

Carbon emissions from fossil fuels continue to increase globally. Last year saw . Further increase is anticipated for 2019 as the growing world economy still demands fossil fuels.

Changes in CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion for 18 countries with declining emissions, 2005-15. Countries are ordered by how soon their emissions peaked and began to decline.

(Le Quéré et al. Nature Climate Change 2019 based on data from the International Energy Agency)

The decrease in emissions from fossil fuels happened in each of the 18 countries for different reasons, but they shared common themes: a high penetration of renewable energy in the electricity sector, a decline in energy use and a high number of energy and climate policies in place.

In the U.S., the use of natural gas to replace coal played a big role in the reduction. In Austria, Finland and Sweden, the emissions reductions were linked to an, according to the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research.

(MORE: U.S. Carbon Emissions Spiked in 2018, Even as Coal Plants Closed)

Contributing to about half of the emissions declines was the use of less fossil fuel and more renewable sources for energy production. Overall reductions in energy use contributed to 36 percent of the decreases.

Some of the decline in energy use can be attributed to the global financial crisis of 2008 that greatly slowed economic growth and reduced the demand for energy.

The countries that saw emissions decline the most were those with the largest number of energy and climate policies in place.

"Our findings suggest that policies to tackle climate change are helping to decrease emissions in many countries. This is good news, but ," said team leader Corinne Le Quéré of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia. "There is a long way to go to cut global emissions down to near zero, which is what is needed to stop climate change. Deploying renewable energy worldwide is a good step but by itself it is not enough, fossil fuels also have to be phased out."