Rich nations greenhouse gas emissions rise in 2007
led by strong gains in the United States, official data showed.
edged up by 0.1 percent in 2007, mainly due to rises in Japan and Canada.
the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo, saying
they showed a failure to shift away from fossil fuels. “It shows that we are not
able to de-link economic growth from emissions.”
and Ukraine were not yet available, comparing like-for-like figures showed emissions
from countries with targets under Kyoto were 14 percent below 1990 levels, exceeding
their goal of a 5 percent reduction by 2012.
Kyoto, showed that industrialized emissions were 2.1 percent below 1990 levels.
gas emissions by an average of 5.2 percent below 1990 levels between 2008-2012.
Since then, the U.S., historically the world’s biggest emitter, has decided not
to ratify the treaty.
temperatures to increase, which in turn could trigger widespread disease, famine,
flooding and drought
industrial production and fossil fuel consumption as a result of the economic downturn, but they stressed
that more needs to be done to prevent world temperatures from rising by over 2
degrees Celsius, a dangerous threshold according to scientists.
said that even if the recession cuts emissions in developed nations, global atmospheric
CO2 levels will continue to be high and “probably still higher in 2009 than in
any other year before.”
just not growing as fast. It would take a massive and sustained global recession
to noticeably curb emissions growth without directed energy policy,” he added.
below 1990 levels by 2020 that UN scientists say are needed to avert the worst
of global warming.
million tonnes in 2007, with the U.S. accounting for over 100 million tonnes of
that. The U.S. emitted 7.1 billion tonnes of CO2 in 2007.
up by 14.8 and 12.0 percent respectively.
or 2.4%, while tiny nation state Liechtenstein and renewable energy leader Denmark made
the deepest percentage cuts, chopping CO2 by 10.8 and 6.2%.
12.3% below 1990 levels.
of this can be attributed to economic restructuring and the closure of industry
in eastern Europe following the collapse of the Soviet Union, rather than through
investment in cleaner energy or energy efficiency.
prices, though Ottawa has said it is unlikely to reach its 6 percent Kyoto reduction
target. Canada’s emissions rose by 4 percent in 2007, putting the country’s CO2
at 29 percent over 1990 levels.
6 percent reduction target, but is buying emissions rights from other nations
that have cut CO2.