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CO2 emissions growth surges as global energy efficiency falls No region decarbonizes its energy supply mongabay.com May 20, 2007
A team of researchers led by Michael R. Raupach of CSIRO-Australia found that global growth rate of CO2 increased from 1.1 % per year during the 1990s to 3.1% per year in the early 2000s. The growth is being fueled primarily by developing countries, especially China and India, where economies are fast-expanding and population continues to increase at a significantly higher rate than in industrialized nations. The study reports that the developing and least-developed economies—representing 80 percent of humanity—accounted for 73% of global emissions growth in 2004 but only 41% of global emissions and only 23% of global cumulative emissions since the mid-18th century.
The finding that energy efficiency gains are reversing even as energy prices climb to record levels is a troubling sign says Chris Field of the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology and a co-author of the study. "Despite the scientific consensus that carbon emissions are affecting the world's climate, we are not seeing evidence of progress in managing those emissions in either the developed or developing countries. In many parts of the world, we are going backwards," said Field. Field noted the research shows that global emissions since 2000 have grown faster than any of the scenarios developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). "The trends relating energy to economic growth are definitely headed in the wrong direction," Field added.
"Solving the first part of the puzzle requires shifting more of the economy toward activities like service industries and information technology, where emissions can be lower, and emphasizing energy efficiency," said Field. "Solving the second requires deploying new sources of non-emitting energy like wind, solar, and nuclear power." CITATION: Michael R. Raupach, Gregg Marland, Philippe Ciais, Corinne Le Quere, Josep G. Canadell, Gernot Klepper,and Christopher B. Field (2007). Global and regional drivers of accelerating CO2 emissions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences May 25, 2007. www.pnas.orgcgidoi10.1073pnas.0700609104 Comments? News options Liquid error: Template not found languages/english/includes/x/_31.liquid
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