11 November 2006Earth TimesJack Myers
Global carbon dioxide emissions are increasing at a faster rate than expected, according to researchers at the Global Carbon Project. The latter is a consortium of international researchers, which met in Beijing on Friday.The gathering was told that in the five years between 2000 and 2005, emissions nearly quadrupled well above the levels in the previous decade. From 1990 to 1999, the global rates of carbon emissions were 0.8 percent, but these spiraled to 3.2 percent between 2000 to 2005.
Dr Mike Raupach, chair of the Global Carbon Project, warned that the rising levels of emissions were spiraling out of control. "This is a very worrying sign. It indicates that recent efforts to reduce emissions have had virtually no impact on emissions growth and that effective caps are urgently needed," he said.Much of the rise is attributed to the fact that the Chinese economy is rapidly expanding. Neighboring India is also far ahead in the race making this area in Asia a leading culprit as far as emissions are concerned. Josep Canadell, executive director of the Global Carbon Project said that if emissions continue to grow at current levels it will soon be impossible to avoid some worst case scenarios."On our current path, we will find it extremely difficult to rein in carbon emissions enough to stabilize the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration at 450ppm, and even 550ppm will be a challenge," he said. "At some point in the near future, we will miss the boat in terms of achieving acceptable levels."The US is not taking any concrete action against global warming at the moment and is of the view that any negative step may harm its economy. Currently ministers are looking at ways to expand emissions control beyond 2012 as provided in the Kyoto Protocol. Jim Watson of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, UK told New Scientist that the US needs to be convinced that emissions control is important, "Action to persuade the US and large developing countries such as China and India to work towards such an agreement is particularly crucial," he added. "So is the acceleration of technological co-operation initiatives to help developing countries - particularly China - to move to a lower carbon development pathway."
