China is the reason CO2 emissions could drop this year

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.

Unlike past periods with little or no emissions growth, global gross domestic product (GDP) grew substantially in both years. According to the study, which was presented at the ongoing COP21 climate summit in Paris, the slowdown in emissions growth in 2014 can be largely attributed to a recent decrease in coal use in China – a country that is responsible for 27 percent of global carbon emissions. Meanwhile, the European Union and India ranked third and fourth, with 10 percent (3.4 billion tonnes) and 7 percent (2.6 billion tonnes) respectively, Sydney Morning Herald reported. Thanks mainly to changes in China, the worldwide growth in emissions flattened in 2014 and is set to drop slightly this year, said the study. Data showed that China’s emissions rate slowed to 1.2 per cent in 2014 as the country moves to other sources like hydro, nuclear, wind and solar power.

The report also shows the contribution of Australia to the global carbon emissions.

The projected growth in fossil fuel consumption in the emerging markets of the world raises the critical question of how we deal with these market realities and also the emerging global consensus that we must act to address climate change. “Multiple lines of evidence suggest that the earth is warming”, said Hoesung Lee, the 69-year-old South Korean economics professor named chair of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in October. It is well within the possibilities that growth in coal emissions in China will not resume any time soon, and certainly not at the fast pace of the previous decade.

And China’s Carbon dioxide emissions have, consequently, dropped a startling 4 percent this year.

While renewable energy technology will play an increasingly important role in reducing fossil fuel emissions, the GCP report looks at future emissions pathways that could keep global average temperature increase below two degrees Celsius this century.

The study was conducted by 70 scientists, led by Corinne Le Quere of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Research at the University of East Anglia in England.

“Reaching zero emissions will require long-term commitments from countries attending the climate meeting in Paris this week and beyond”, said Jackson. Although India has a significant weight in air pollution due to the size of 2 tons per capita carbon emissions a year.

Globally, it is unlikely that emissions have peaked for good because many growing economies still rely on coal for energy generation and emissions reductions in some industrialized countries are still very modest, the study said.