Rio de Janeiro, Nov 8 (IANS): Brazil's greenhouse gas emissions dropped 36.7 percent in the past seven years, according to a study released Thursday by the country's climate monitoring centre.

The study said that the greenhouse gas emissions in Brazil in 2012 decreased to 1.48 billion tons of carbon dioxide, while in 2005 it reached 2.34 billion tons of carbon dioxide, reported Xinhua.

The reduction was achieved due to changes in using of land, combating illegal logging and clearing, mainly in the Amazon, according to the study, which is based on the figures from the Gas Emission Estimation System.

The study however shows that the amount of greenhouse gas emissions increased 7.9 percent in the last 22 years.

The biggest contributing factor to greenhouse gases in Brazil last year was deforestation, followed by agriculture, energy, industrial processes, and solid wastes.

The energy sector has increased greenhouse gas emissions to 436 million tons of carbon dioxide in 2012, an increase of 126 percent compared with that of 1990.