According to Dr. Pep Canadell, executive director of the Global Carbon Project, while there was an increase of 3 percent in the economic growth, there was a corresponding 0.5 percent drop in the greenhouse gas emissions. China has been ranked as the world’s leading emission source, releasing 9.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in 2014 and accounting for more than 25 percent of the total global emissions.
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The researchers identified China as the world’s top Carbon dioxide emitter in 2014, responsible for 27 percent of global emissions, followed by the United States (15.5 percent), the European Union (9.5 percent) and India (7.2 percent).
ABC News, in its report, said that following the stabilization of emissions in 2014, a slight drop has been observed in 2015, a shocking improvement that has been seen for the first time since the global financial crisis. Whether it continues to decline further will depend on fossil fuel consumption in China and other countries, as well as how effectively the renewable sources of energy are utilized.
Growth in global carbon dioxide emissions is expected to slow for a second year running in 2015, in spite of economic growth, after typically rising by around 2 to 3 percent since the turn of the century, according to research published on Monday.
Nevertheless, the researchers were cautious about the findings, saying even if emissions peak in the next couple decades, “we’ll still be emitting massive amounts of Carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels”.
Other co-authors of the report are Robbie Andrew, Jan Ivar Korsbakken and Glen Peters, Center for International Climate and Environmental Research (Norway); and Nebojsa Nakicenovic, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (Austria). India’s reliance on coal has been increasing steadily for the past five years, the report said.
A new study presented at the UN Climate Change Conference reveals how for the first time ever, there will be a trend in declining levels of carbon dioxide emissions around the world. “There is a long way to near zero emissions”, said Prof Le Quéré. Beijing came in for criticism for obstructing the 2009 Copenhagen talks when some participants complained China and India stymied global emissions reduction efforts, possibly for fear they might hamper economic growth.
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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“Reaching zero emissions will require long-term commitments from countries attending the climate meeting in Paris this week and beyond”, Jackson added.
