Greenhouse gas emissions from rich countries rising finds UN
Greenhouse gas emissions from rich countries rising finds UN
mongabay.com
October 30, 2006
A rise in greenhouse gas emissions from industrialized countries during the 2000-2004 period was called “worrying” by a United Nations report released today.
The report found that emissions of heat-trapping gases by 41 nations rose to 17.9 billion metric tons in 2004 from 17.8 billion in 2003 and 17.5 billion in 2000. The Kyoto Protocol, signed by 35 countries, has called for a 5 percent average cut in emissions below 1990 levels by 2008-2012.
Of countries that have singed the agreement, Spain leads the pack with a 49 percent over 1990 levels in 2004. The United States, which has not signed the agreement, has seen a 15.8 percent increase since 1990, while the EU as a whole has had a 0.6 percent drop in emissions since 1990. Overall, greenhouse gas emissions have dropped by 3.3 percent since 1990 levels among the 41 countries. Most of the drop results from the economic slow-down in Eastern Europe following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
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The UN said that as a group, Kyoto nations stand a good chance of meeting the 5 percent target specified by the international agreement. It said that the use of the clean development mechanism, which allows wealthy countries to support carbon-mitigating sustainable development projects in developing countries in exchange for emission credits.
“We are looking forward to emissions trading between all countries with emission targets under the Kyoto Protocol when the first commitment period starts in 2008,” said Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer. “At the same time, it is clear that further global action on climate change is urgently needed to generate significant investment flows into clean technology, making use of existing and new market mechanisms.”
UNFCCC greenhouse gas data report points to rising emission trends