The tantalizing prospect that global economic growth may finally be decoupling from the rate countries are emitting greenhouse gases is reason enough for hopeful speculation.
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“Time will tell whether this surprising interruption in emissions growth is transitory or a first step towards emissions stabilization”, the paper says.
Thanks mainly to changes in China, the worldwide growth in emissions from fossil fuels-derived energy flattened in 2014 and is set to drop slightly – by about 0.6 percent – this year, said the study in the journal Nature Climate Change.
The researchers said emissions had previously grown strongly, with growth at around 2.4 per cent each year, for the past decade. “And despite the slowing of Carbon dioxide emissions globally, the amount of Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has now reached 400 parts per million, its highest level in at least 800,000 years”.
While CO2 emissions have slowed during times of economic recession, this would be the first decline during a period of strong global economic growth, Jackson said.
“. many studies suggest a temperature increase of 3°C is now possible and even likely without larger emissions reductions”, states the Global Carbon Project report. What we are now seeing is that emissions appear to have stalled, and they could even decline slightly in 2015. Dr Canadell said all nations needed to be more ambitious and ramp up their emissions targets.
So when you combine China’s accelerated action with the commitments made by the other leading countries for the Paris climate talks and the ongoing cleantech revolution, it seems clear that 2014-2015 marks an inflection point in the Carbon dioxide emissions trend line – and could even represent a true plateau. “This agreement allows us to have more tools to make a difference when it comes to climate change, to learn from each other’s experiences”, Selinger stated.
China remains the biggest polluter, accounting for 27 per cent of emissions, followed by the U.S. on 15 per cent, the European Union on 10 per cent and India on 7 per cent.
China accounts for more than a quarter of the world’s industrial emissions of greenhouse gases, and the new figures reflect broad shifts in the Chinese economy that led to lower emissions growth in 2014, as well as a likelihood of declining emissions in 2015.
This compares with earlier fears that China’s emissions peak may not have occurred until 2030. Despite China’s great strides in reducing its emissions, there is still a lot of work to be done. Taxing carbon dioxide energy incentivizes businesses and consumers to change production processes, technologies, and behavior in a manner comparable to the administration’s regulatory scheme – though neither regulations nor a tax is good policy.
According to Bank of America Merrill Lynch, climate change and the carbon-intensive economy are “causing unprecedented damage to financial stability via physical, liability and transition risks” as well as “up to 5 [million] deaths a year”. Last year, the world pumped an estimated 35.9 billion metric tons (39.6 billion tons) into the air by burning coal, oil and gas, along with making cement.
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“Emissions in India are at the same level as China in the 1990s”, said Glen P. Peters, an analyst with a climate center in Oslo who spoke at a news conference here.
