Despite Reductions by Developed Nations, Global Carbon Emissions Remained Highest in 2010

Global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions increased by 45 percent between 1990 and 2010, and reached a record high of 33 billion tonnes in 2010, says a new study.

The study regards continued growth in the developing countries and emerging economies, and economic recovery by the industrialised countries as the main factors for a record breaking 5.8 percent increase in global CO2 emissions between 2009 and 2010.

Most major economies contributed to this increase, including India, China, USA, and European Union.

Though energy efficiency has increased, the globally increasing demand for power and transport, especially in developing countries continues to outpace the supply.

This increase took place despite emission reductions in industrialised countries during the same period, EurekAlert reports.

The study also suggested that industrialised nations are likely to meet the collective Kyoto target of a 5.2 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2012, owing large emission reductions from economies in transition in the early nineties and more recent reductions during the 2008-2009 recession.

According to the study, the share of global emissions of the industrialised the Kyoto Protocol member nations, has now declined to less than half of the total.

The report is based on recent results from the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR).

These figures were published in the report "Long-term trend in global CO2 emissions," prepared by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre and PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency

Source: ANI