Following a slight dip in 2009, due to the economic crisis, output rose to an all-time record in 2010, representing a “serious setback” to efforts to limit the increase in global temperatures to two degrees centigrade, agreed by world leaders at Cancun.
Next week, negotiators meet in Bonn for new talks to prepare for the Durban climate summit in December. IEA estimates show that while richer nations produce 40 per cent of global emissions, output is rising at a faster rate in countries like China and India. Nonetheless, per capita, OECD states still generate twice as much as China.
“One wonders how many more worrying figures the world needs”, said EU climate action commissioner Connie Hedegaard. In the European Union, she added, emissions covered by the Emissions Trading System fell by 8 per cent in 2008-2010, thanks to “specific policies, binding targets and a price on carbon”.
Last week, the Conservative-led coalition set out plans to halve Britain’s carbon emissions by 2025 (from 1990 levels). But Labour and green campaigners have criticised the West for “outsourcing” the problem to less developed countries, through offset mechanisms and relocation, while failing to tackle domestic emissions.
