Steep increase in global CO2 emissions despite reductions by industrialised countries with binding Kyoto targets

A report by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre and PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency finds that global emissions of carbon dioxide increased by 45% between 1990 and 2010, and reached an all-time high of 33 billion tonnes in 2010. Increased energy efficiency, nuclear energy and the growing contribution of renewable energy are not compensating for the globally increasing demand for power and transport, which is strongest in developing countries. This increase took place despite emission reductions in industrialised countries during the same period. Continued growth in the developing countries and emerging economies and economic recovery by the industrialised countries are the main reasons for a 5.8% increase in global CO₂ emissions between 2009 and 2010. Most major economies contributed to this increase, led by China, USA, India and EU-27 with increases of 10%, 4%, 9% and 3% respectively. At present, the USA emits 16.9 tonnes CO₂ per capita per year, over twice as much as the EU-27 with 8.1 tonnes. By comparison, Chinese per capita CO₂ emissions of 6.8 tonnes are still below the EU-27 average, but now equal those of Italy.

The report is entitled "Long-term trend in global CO₂ emissions" and can be downloaded here, together with the press release: