Another Record Year for CO2

(external-resource, 15 Sep 2014) This is the 4th installment in a series that examines data from the recently released Statistical Review of World Energy 2014. The previous posts covered the world’s growing fossil fuel consumption.

Today I examine the implications of that growing fossil fuel consumption by looking at carbon dioxide emission trends. The key points in the report include:

  • Global carbon dioxide emissions increased by 2.1% to reach a new record high in 2013.
  • China had the largest carbon dioxide emissions of any country in 2013, and was responsible for 27.1% of the world’s total.
  • Following several years of declines, US carbon dioxide emissions grew by 2.9% in 2013 and now represent 16.9% of the global total.
  • Since 2003, global carbon dioxide emissions have grown by 7.8 billion metric tons. To understand the magnitude of that increase, consider that total US carbon dioxide emissions in 2013 were 5.9 billion metric tons.

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external-resource, 15 Sep 2014: Another Record Year for CO2