2012 set to be record year for CO2 emissions

By RTCC Staff

Carbon dioxide emissions globally are set to reach a record high in 2012, according to new figures from the Global Carbon Project.

It reports emissions have risen by 2.6% in 2012, making them 58% higher than 1990 levels – the baseline year for the Kyoto Protocol.

The latest study, co-led by researchers at the Tyndall Centre, comes as 195 parties under the UN climate convention meet in Qatar aimed at reaching an agreement on a new phase of the Kyoto Protocol, and discuss the global agreement to follow it in 2020.

This rise will further open the gap between the real-world emissions and those required to keep warming below the set target of 2°C.

“These latest figures come amidst climate talks in Doha. But with emissions continuing to grow, it’s as if no-one is listening to the entire scientific community,” says Professor Corinne Le Quéré, Director of the Tyndall Centre.

“I am worried that the risks of dangerous climate change are too high on our current emissions trajectory. We need a radical plan.”

The data shows that the biggest contributors to global emissions in 2011 were China (28%), the US (16%), the EU (11%) and India (7%).

Emissions in China and India grew by 9.9% and 7.5% in 2011, while those of the US and EU decreased by 1.8% and 2.8%.

 

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