Report cites China’s efforts as carbon emissions slow

The biggest emitters in 2014 were China, which accounted for 27% of the world’s total emissions, the United States with 15%, the European Union with 10%, and India with 7%.

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.

In 2015, however, the researchers expect global carbon emissions to decline by 0.6 percent to 35.7 gigatonnes – their central projection from a range of -1.6 percent to +0.5 percent.

China is now recovering from a slow economic growth that can be attributed to this decrease in coal related emissions however for India, the nation is planning to double its coal burning output to supply power where carbon emissions growth will likely resume to increase in the next few years.

The researchers conclude, “Whether the unexpectedly low growth rates in Carbon dioxide emissions observed in 2014 and 2015 are a first sign of an approaching global peak in emissions is unclear”.

“Present World system models presume that global plant growth will supply the great advantage of canceling a substantial piece of mankind’s Carbon dioxide emissions, so purchasing us much needed time to control emissions”, Smith explained in a press release. “What we found in these past two years has not really been observed before”, he said. They show an increase in fossil fuel and cement production emissions of 0.6 percent over 2013, which is much lower than the 2.4 percent annual growth rate over the preceding decade. However, if India could significantly reduce its emissions, it could potentially match the EU’s emissions before 2020, said lead author Rob Jackson, a professor at Stanford University. Scientists predict a 2-degree rise in average global temperatures.

“In 2014, more than half of new energy needs in China were met from non-fossil fuel sources, such as hydro, nuclear, wind and solar power”, said Pep Canadell of Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization.

“Reaching zero emissions will require long-term commitments from countries attending the climate meeting in Paris this week and beyond”, Jackson said. Economic growth there has slowed (but not stopped) recently, and significant efforts to move away from a dirtier industrial economy, and away from the use of coal, contributed to a projected 3.9 decrease in emissions for 2015, according to the researchers.