In the past, every single break or decline in the growth of carbon emissions was directly correlated with a downturn in the global or regional economy.
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The findings emphasize the need for action to stabilize and permanently lower global Carbon dioxide emissions, the researchers concluded.
Scientific calculations based on these factors from June to October estimate that this year the world’s atmosphere will receive 0.6 per cent less carbon than in 2014.
For the first time in history, global carbon dioxide emissions appear to be heading toward an yearly decline, possibly marking an end to an era of burgeoning global greenhouse gas emissions.
Corinne Le Quere, who led the data analysis, said that these figures are certainly not typical of the growth trajectory seen since 2000, where the annual growth in emissions was between 2 and 3 percent.
Australia emitted over one per cent, or 0.38 billion tonnes, of the world’s total carbon emissions from fossil fuels in 2014, making it the 14th largest contributor. “There is still a long way to near zero emissions”.
The decline will come even though the global economy grew this year, by an expected 3.1 per cent, following expansion of 3.4 per cent in 2014, the authors noted. It showed global carbon emissions may fall slightly in 2015. Separate reports, including one from the World Meteoroligical Organization, show record concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which could soon exacerbate climate change. According to the study, which was presented at the ongoing COP21 climate summit in Paris, the slowdown in emissions growth in 2014 can be largely attributed to a recent decrease in coal use in China – a country that is responsible for 27 percent of global carbon emissions.
A recent study, “Sparking an Innovation Step Change” carried out by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology’s (EIT) Climate-KIC, found that while 63 per cent of industrial business leaders in Europe acknowledge the risks posed by climate change, only 29 per cent believe they can respond by deploying innovative technologies and ways of working.
And this decoupling wasn’t due to weird weather or accountancy ploys – much of the decline in emissions is due to a reduction in China’s coal consumption as its economy slows and it moves to cleaner, renewable energy sources in an effort to deal with its epic air pollution problem, the researcher said.
And China’s Carbon dioxide emissions have, consequently, dropped a startling 4 percent this year.
Today, India’s carbon dioxide emissions are the same as those in China in 1990.
“It’s unlikely that emissions have peaked for good”, she said.
“The largest uncertainty in future years is China’s coal use”. But in 2015, China’s coal consumption dropped alongside a decreased global appetite for oil and natural gas and a rising desire for renewable energy, according to the Earth System Science Data journal paper released on Tuesday.
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“Reaching zero emissions will require long-term commitments from countries attending the climate meeting in Paris this week and beyond”, Jackson said. “An acceleration in the transformation of energy use and production is needed to set global emissions on course to complete decarbonization, as required for climate stabilization”.
