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A bit of good news: carbon emissions from energy – flat for past 3 years

Carbon dioxide emissions from energy have not increased for three years in a row even as the global economy grew, says the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Global emissions from the energy sector were 32.1 billion tonnes in 2016, the same as the previous two years, while the economy grew 3.1 per cent, the agency says.

The IEA put the halt in growth down to growing renewable power generation, switches from coal to natural gas and improvements in energy efficiency.

The biggest drop was seen in the US, where carbon dioxide emissions fell 3 per cent, while the economy grew 1.6 per cent, following a surge in shale gas supplies and more renewable power that displaced coal.

US emissions are at their lowest level since 1992, while the economy has grown 80 per cent since that time.

Carbon dioxide output also declined in China, by 1 per cent, and were stable in Europe, offsetting increases in most of the rest of the world, the IEA says.

Emerging trend

“These three years of flat emissions in a growing global economy signal an emerging trend and that is certainly a cause for optimism, even if it is too soon to say that global emissions have definitely peaked,” says Fatih Birol, the IEA’s executive director…….

But the IEA also warns that the welcome pause in emissions growth is not enough to meet globally-agreed targets to limit temperature rises to below 2°C above pre-industrial levels — considered to be the threshold for dangerous climate change. Overall, the levels of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere are still rising to record new levels. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2124975-co2-emissions-from-energy-remain-flat-for-third-year-running/

March 17, 2017 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, climate change