Carbon emissions 'at record high'

26 May 2012, 2:59 pm   -   Source: MCT, AAP
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Global emissions of carbon-dioxide have increased by 3.2 percent between 2010 and 2011. (AAP)

Global emissions of carbon-dioxide have increased by 3.2 percent between 2010 and 2011. (AAP)

Global emissions of carbon-dioxide from fossil-fuel combustion hit a record high of 31.6 gigatonnes in 2011, according to the IEA's preliminary estimates.

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Global emissions of carbon-dioxide, or CO2, from fossil-fuel combustion hit a record high of 31.6 gigatonnes in 2011, according to the International Energy Agency's (IEA) preliminary estimates, an increase of one Gt, or 3.2 per cent from 2010.

The burning of coal accounted for 45 per cent of total energy-related CO2 emissions in 2011, followed by oil (35 per cent) and natural gas (20 per cent).

According to the vast majority of climatologists, the rapid rise of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere because of industrialisation over the last 150 years has led to an increase in global average temperature by about 1 degree Celsius.

Scientists and the IEA contend that countries need to keep the global average temperature from rising by more than two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in order to avoid profound damage to life on Earth, from water and food scarcity to rising sea levels to greater incidence and severity of disease.

Last year's jump in carbon emissions sets the world even more firmly on the path to hurtle past a 2 degree Celsius increase. "The new data provide further evidence that the door to a 2C trajectory is about to close," said IEA Chief Economist Fatih Birol.

China is the world's largest emitter of carbon dioxide, followed by the United States, the European Union and India. Although China's emissions rose significantly because of its coal consumption, the increase would have been more substantial had the country not taken steps over the last decade to improve energy efficiency and deploy cleaner power sources, Birol said.

Carbon dioxide emissions in the United States fell by 1.7 per cent, or 92 megatonnes, in 2011, as more power companies switched to natural gas from coal and a mild winter reduced heating demand. Emissions in the United States have now fallen by 7.7 per cent since 2006, according to the IEA, which called it "the largest reduction of all countries or regions."

The drop in US emissions is a result of lower petrol use and the move to gas from coal in the power sector.

 

Climate Change , Global Warming , Carbon Emissions

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Your Comments

how much more is enough

robb - from geelong, 12 months ago

Putting aside the issue of whether the current warming trend is attributable in part to fossil fuels,will all the 'deniers' and 'dont knows', tell us how much more % increase has to happen before they decide enough is enough. We cant add to the CO2 atmospheric % forever. We are intelligent enough to know that altering the planets natural makeup must have consequences so why wait to see what happens. The 'Playing God' argument is used re GM unknown consequences, so why not with CO2.

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