Global carbon emissions stall for second year

Researchers said Monday they believe global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels declined in 2015.

It was hoped the 195 countries attending the Paris climate change talks would finalise an agreement before the discussions wrapped up on Friday.

The numbers, however, are intriguing. What we are now seeing is that emissions appear to have stalled, and they could even decline slightly in 2015.

They have coincided with shrinking economies during the breakup of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, the U.S. dotcom bust in the early 2000s, and during the recent global financial crisis.

Other survey questions focused on how climate change will affect specific sectors of the USA economy; how it will alter the economic growth rate; how states can most efficiently comply with the EPA’s Clean Power Plan; and other topics.

The “what” is easier to answer.

“Whether a slower growth in emissions will be sustained depends on the use of coal in China and elsewhere, and where new sources of energy will come from”, said co-author Pep Canadell of Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO).

Australia is the 14 largest carbon emissions contributor globally and while its per capita emissions remain high; there has been a significant declining trend over the past 6 years. “It’s happening faster than we expected”. China, for example, has committed to peak emissions around 2030, while Mexico is aiming to peak emissions by 2026. 2015 t expected to fall if the global total time of my release.

“That is why India is a wildcard”, he said.

2015 has been an extraordinary year, and not just because of China. By comparison, the USA sits in second place at 15 per cent.

“Beijing is also intentionally ratcheting up coal prices to make those energy-intensive sectors less competitive, as well as to make coal less competitive vis-à-vis renewables”, notes a new analysis of Chinese energy and climate policies from the Center for American Progress. “India has the challenge of producing more energy and yet not just being able to rely on coal to do it”.

In related news, United Nations officials warn of climate disaster if Paris pact fails. The study was published as representatives from 190 countries have gathered in Paris to hammer out a deal to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial times.

“Time will tell whether this surprising interruption in emissions growth is transitory or a first step towards emissions stabilization”, the study points out. This comes after the yearly increases in emissions slowed to nearly a standstill in 2014.

The study was conducted by the Global Carbon Project and headed by scientists at Stanford University. “What it shows is that we are indeed turning the corner in the transition from a fossil fuel to renewable-driven global economy”. Still, he says, “we’ll need to do much more”.

Diego Pavia, chief executive of the EIT’s INNO Energy-KIC said governments could use public spending to push industry into more climate innovation. The median estimate was “by 2025”, with 41 percent saying that climate change is already negatively affecting the economy.