Climate Change Development: Global Carbon Emissions Did Not Grow In 2015

The researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the Global Carbon Project discovered that the global carbon emission from burning fossil fuels did not grow in 2015. It marks three years of stagnancy, which could be a turning point to tackle climate change.

Phys.org reports that the global carbon emissions might just rise slightly in 2016. The rise could be only 0.2 percent in 2016. This is a good break from the fast emissions growth of 2.3 percent every year in the decade to 2013. On the other hand, in 2014, there is only 0.7 percent emissions growth.

Professor Corinne Le Quéré, the director of the Tyndall Center at UEA and the lead author of the analysis, explained that this third year of almost no growth in emissions is unprecedented at a time of strong economic growth. She further explained that this is a great help for tackling climate change but it is not enough. She added that global emissions now need to decrease rapidly, not just stop growing.

The Independent reports that the researchers attributed the slowdown of global carbon emissions to the reduced Chinese coal consumption since 2012. The coal is said to be the main source of carbon emissions. In 2015, the carbon emissions in China were down by 0.7 percent and 0.5 percent in 2016.

Glen Peters, the co-author of the study and a senior researcher at the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo, said that it remains unclear whether the Chinese slowdown was due to a restructuring of the Chinese economy or a sign of economic instability. On the other hand, the unexpected reductions in Chinese emissions give hope that the world's biggest emitter can deliver much more ambitious emission reductions.

Meanwhile, there are some worrisome that India and other developing countries could push global emissions higher again. In the study, India's carbon emissions rose by 5 percent in 2015. In the United States, which is the second higher emitter of carbon, the emissions fell by 2.6 percent in 2015 and by 1.7 percent in 2016. On the other hand, the reductions are uncertain under the new administration of Trump.