The increase of carbon dioxide emissions, or CO2 gas into the Earth’s atmosphere might be slowing down according to an annual report from the Netherlands Environment Assessment Agency and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre.
The increase of carbon dioxide emissions, or CO2 gas into the Earth’s atmosphere might be slowing down according to an annual report from the Netherlands Environment Assessment Agency and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre.
The report says that during 2012, CO2 emissions increased by less than half the annual average of the last decade.
Even though the global economy grew by 3 point 5 percent, emissions only rose by 1 point 4 percent.
Some contributing factors to the rate of increase slowing down include the United States using more shale gas, and China increasing their hydropower capabilities by 23 percent.
CO2 emissions from China reportedly increased by 3 percent, compared with the average 10 percent annual increase they’ve experienced over the past ten years.
Doctor Greet Maenhout, one of the authors of the study said: “It is good news but still not sufficient. We are still having increases every year which are cumulative. Since CO2 lives for 100 years in the atmosphere, we will still not be able to cope with a 2C target for 2050.”
55 percent of global CO2 being released into the atmosphere is coming from China, the US, and the European Union.
