The industrial giant has aggressively pushed a transition to renewables to combat the toxic emissions that have clogged the atmosphere and sickened its people, Jackson said.
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“In this case, the 2015 projection ranges from a global decline in emissions of up to 1.5 per cent – or at the other end of the spectrum, a small rise of 0.5 per cent”, said Prof Corinne Le Quéré, Director of the Tyndall Centre at UEA who led the data analysis.
Researchers believes, however, that carbon emissions will have to reach zero in order to achieve climate stabilization.
Since decades, the burning of fossil fuels by humans is the largest source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission.
The only problem is that outlets have overplayed this development: The New York Times framed this as “a chance that global emissions have already peaked and may be starting a long-term decline”. Respondents predicted a global GDP loss of roughly 10 percent if global mean temperature increases by 3°C relative to the pre-industrial era by 2090 – this increase approximates a “business as usual” emissions scenario. While it is encouraging that the carbon emissions appear to have fallen, it will be several more years before this announcement is put into true perspective. India, the third-largest polluter, hasn’t even named a year for emissions to peak. Researchers predict that, if the trend continues, the rate will be further slowed down by another 0.6 percent, Reuters reported.
According to the report, decreased use of coal in China was largely responsible for the decline.
Since 2000, global emissions have risen at an average annual pace of 2.4 percent, as countries such as India and China increase their reliance on coal and fossil fuels to boost growth.
Online – Despite global economic growth in 2015, worldwide emissions from fossil fuels are projected to decline by 0.6% this year. India’s reliance on coal has been increasing steadily for the past five years, the report said.
Carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere can dictate climate change and these will grow continuously when emissions are positive.
“Only a year ago people were assuming that economic growth and emissions growth were as inextricably coupled as Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin”, he said.
The drop is evidence of changing behavior as countries invest more in renewable energy.
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