A new report from the Global Carbon Project found after growing by less than 1 per cent a year ago, global fossil fuel emissions are expected to stabilize or even decline in 2015.
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Emissions of man-made greenhouse gases appear to have declined slightly in 2015, scientists said Monday, reflecting what experts say is an encouraging, though likely temporary, pause in the steady rise in pollutants blamed for climate change. Previously, carbon emissions only dropped in a period of economic slowdown (such as after the 2008 financial crisis), yet this notable decrease has occurred during a period of global economic growth. But as China has started to deal with its air pollution problem, and the country’s economic growth has slowed, “all of a sudden, it looks like their use of coal in 2015 actually has gone down”, Le Quere says.
Myles Allen, professor of geosystem science at the University of Oxford, said the report showed it was possible for the world economy to grow while reducing emissions, but he said in order to stop temperatures rising, emissions need to peak and then be reduced to zero.
If greenhouse gas emissions fall in 2015, it would be the first time such a decline has occured during a period of global economic growth.
The last point represents a current difference between China and US negotiators.
He noted that more companies and investors are leading on climate action than at any time in history, and that they are doing so “because they understand the risks of climate change, and the opportunities inherent in addressing it”.
The decline of 0.6 per cent projected for this year, should it come to pass, would be highly unusual at a time when the global economy is growing.
China was the largest emitter globally with 9.7 billion tonnes, followed by the US with 5.6 billion tonnes, the European Union with 3.4, and India, emitting 2.6 billion tonnes.
China’s emissions growth is predicted to decline by four per cent this year, however the nation’s coal use remained the largest uncertainty for global emissions into the future. China s worth of per capita carbon emissions of 7.1, 6.8 s watching the EU. “It’s unlikely to be a peak of emissions”. These accounted for more than half of the growth in new energy in 2014, with a very similar mix during the first three-quarters of this year.
Getting countries to pull together to set strict limits about carbon emissions and move away from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy more suited to life in the 21st century is the focus of the meeting of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties (COP21) meeting now ongoing in Paris, France.
“The trend of rapid global emissions growth has been broken”, said Michael Grubb at University College London. “It is the concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that matter for climate, and those continue to grow as long as emissions are positive”.
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The country has embarked in developing cleaner energy alternatives in the last few years.
