Global CO2 emissions soar to all time high but with decreased growth rate

A new study has revealed that although global CO2 emissions from fossil fuel use and cement production has reached an all new high, the growth has been notably slower at 2% than on average in the last ten years.

This slowdown, which began in 2012, signals a further decoupling of global emissions and economic growth, reflects mainly the lower emissions growth rate of China, but it was also found that USA, EU and China remain the top-3 emitters of CO2, accounting for respectively 29%, 15% and 11% of the world's total.

According to the findings of annual report 'Trends in global CO2 emissions' released by PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency and the JRC, in 2013, global CO2 emissions grew to the new record of 35.3 billion tonnes (Gt). Sharp risers include Brazil (+ 6.2%), India (+ 4.4%), China (+ 4.2%) and Indonesia (+2.3%).

The much lower emissions increase in China of 4.2% in 2013 and 3.4% in 2012 was primarily due to a decline in electricity and fuel demand from the basic materials industry, and aided by an increase in renewable energy and by energy efficiency improvements. The emissions increase in the United States in 2013 (+2.5%) was mainly due to a shift in power production from gas back to coal together with an increase in gas consumption due to a higher demand for space heating.