INDIA OVERTAKES EU
The research found fossil fuels accounted for 36.8 billion tonnes of a total of 40.9 billion tonnes of CO2 estimated to be emitted this year.
Several major polluters have clocked falling CO2 emissions this year – including a 3 per cent decrease in the United States and a 7.4 per cent drop across the European Union.
But China, which accounts for almost a third of global emissions, is expected to see a 4 per cent rise in fossil fuel CO2 this year, the research found, with increases in coal, oil and gas as the country continues to rebound from its COVID-19 lockdowns.
Meanwhile, a rise in CO2 emissions of more than 8 per cent in India means the country has now overtaken the EU as the third-biggest fossil fuel emitter, scientists said.
In both India and China, increasing demand for power is outstripping a significant rollout of renewables, said Peters.
Emissions from aviation rose by 28 per cent this year as it rebounded from pandemic-era lows.
The research was published in the journal Earth System Science Data.
The Earth has already warmed some 1.2 degrees Celsius, unleashing ferocious heatwaves, wildfires, floods and storms.
Temperatures this year have surged to the highest in recorded history and the UN’s World Meteorological Organization has said 2023 was already around 1.4 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial baseline by October.
Going above 1.5 degrees Celsius for a single year would not breach the Paris deal, however, which is measured over decades.
Source: CNA
