Global carbon dioxide emissions are set to rise nearly 3 percent this year due to continued fossil fuel use, a report published by scientists on Wednesday said, dashing hopes that an increase in 2017 was temporary after two years of slowdown.
Speaking at an event on the sidelines of the UN climate conference COP24 in Poland, co-author of the Global Carbon Project report Corinne Le Quere said China and the U.S. had increased CO2 emissions, whilst Europe had shown a drop, although it was not as much as anticipated.
World emissions grew by 1.6 percent last year and will increase even more this year due to the sustained use of coal, oil and natural gas, said the annual report by the Global Carbon Project showed.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions were roughly flat from 2014 to 2016, which led to hopes that emissions had peaked in 2013.
The data, presented during talks among around 190 nations in Poland on implementing the 2015 Paris Agreement climate accord, are a setback for a global goal of curbing emissions to avert more floods, heat waves, and rising sea levels.
The world is on track for a 3-5 degrees Celsius rise in global average temperature this century and if all known fossil fuel resources are used the rise will be even bigger, the U.N. World Meteorological Organization warned last week.
Autor: gf / Źródło: TVN24 International, Reuters
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: tvn24