Government intervention has helped India limit the growth in its carbon emissions to a projected 2% this year, much slower than the annual 6% over the previous decade, a report said on Monday. However, globally, emissions are set to rise once again after three stable years, led by a 3.5% rise in emissions in China, the world’s largest polluter.
The findings were reported in the 12th annual Global Carbon Budget report, which is produced by 76 of the world’s leading emissions experts from 57 research institutions.
The rise in global carbon emissions from fossil fuels is likely to be 2% by the end of 2017. “Global carbon dioxide emissions appear to be going up strongly once again after a three-year stable period,” said lead researcher Corinne Le Quéré. “This is very disappointing.”
“With global carbon dioxide emissions from all human activities estimated at 41 billion tonnes for 2017, time is running out on our ability to keep warming well below 2 degrees Celsius, let alone 1.5 degrees Celsius,” Le Quéré said.
The 2015 Paris climate accord had planned to restrict the global rise in temperature to 2 degrees Celsius over pre-Industrial Revolution levels, and to make efforts to limit it further to 1.5 degrees.
The emissions in the United States will likely see a decline of 0.4% this year. Emissions is 22 countries declined in the last 10 years even though their economies grew, the report said. A fast growing economy is usually expected to report higher emissions.
Last week, the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization said that the year 2017 may end up being the second hottest on record.
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