Climate and greenhouse
Carbon economy






Climate and greenhouse


Global greenhouse gas emissions rose 70 per cent between 1970 and 2004 and would rise another 25 to 90 per cent above 2000 levels by 2030 without new restraints, the IPCC says.


The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2007 assessment report said world temperatures are likely to rise between 1.1 to 6.4 degrees Celsius by 2100, triggering more frequent floods, droughts, melting of icecaps and threatening species extinction.


Carbon emissions from the next five years of burning rainforests will be greater than that for the entire history of aviation up to 2025, according to the Global Canopy Programme.


An estimated 30 per cent of the world’s total greenhouse emissions in 1997 came from wildfires in Borneo, which destroyed one million hectares of forests. Apes In Danger, BBC


Since 1751 roughly 315 billion tonnes of carbon have been released to the atmosphere from the consumption of fossil fuels and cement production. Half of these emissions have occurred since the mid 1970s.


April 2, 1979: "It is the sense of the scientific community that carbon dioxide from unrestrained combustion of fossil fuels potentially is the most important environmental issue facing mankind."
- U.S. Department of Energy report.


Up to 25 per cent of all human-related greenhouse gas emissions result from release of carbon through forest losses, mainly in developing countries.

Within that 25 per cent, the clearing of Indonesia's peat swamps is estimated to cause two billion tonnes of carbon emissions a year - about 8 per cent of total global emissions alone, according to Wetlands International.


Worldwide carbon dioxide emissions in 2005 are estimated to be slightly more than 24 billion tonnes.


Every litre of gasoline or petrol used in motor vehicles produces 2.4 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions. For diesel fuel, every litre produces 2.7 kilograms carbon dioxide, acording to changeyourcorner.com


A return flight for two from Amsterdam to the Thai resort of Phuket produces considerably more carbon dioxide than the average new car does in a year.


The average US citizen emits as much carbon dioxide in one day as someone in China does in more than a week, or someone in Tanzania, one of the world's poorest countries, emits in seven months, according to International Energy Agency (IEA) statistics.


The World Health Organisation has estimated that climate change leads to more than 150,000 deaths every year and at least 5 million cases of illness.


Global sea levels will increase by 28 to 34 centimetres (11 to 13 inches) by 2100, according to 2006 estimates by Australia's science research agency CSIRO.


According to International Energy Agency statistics, world energy-related CO2 emissions in 2004 were 16.4 per cent above their 1990 level. In 2002 alone, they increased by 2 per cent.


By 2080, average annual losses due to storms in the Northern Hemisphere will increase by two-thirds to 22 billion euros, a recent study from the British Insurance Industry estimates. Annual costs from flooding in Europe are foreseen rising to 100-120 billion euros.


While only 3 per cent of the EU total, greenhouse emissions from aviation were 87 per cent above 1990 levels by 2006 and current levels would double again by 2020 in the absence of any abatement action, according to IHS research.


Ten countries account for two-thirds of global forest area, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Indonesia, Peru, Russia and the United States.


China says its reforestation and afforestation programmes over the last two decades have it on track to lift forest cover to 20 per cent of its land mass by 2010, compared to just 8.6 per cent in 1949.


According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the amount of carbon stored in forest biomass is about 283 Gigatonnes (Gt), though it decreased globally by 1.1 Gt annually between 1990 and 2005. Carbon stored in forest biomass, deadwood, litter and soil together is roughly 50 per cent more than the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.


The United States is the world's leading greenhouse-gas emitter, accounting for 22 per cent of total emissions. China will overtake the US in emissions by 2010 at the latest, and already has by some estimates.


US annual greenhouse emissions per capita are about 20 tonnes. China is estimated to emit around 3 tonnes per person, but with emissions growing rapidly.


The United States has one of the highest levels of per capita emissions of greenhouse gases, and, as of December 2007 is the only industrialised country not to have ratified the Kyoto Protocol.



Carbon economy


The value of carbon emissions instruments traded globally reached $126 billion in 2008, compared with $64bn in 2007 $31bn in 2006, according to the World Bank.


More than 70 per cent of CDM projects deliver smaller emission reductions than first expected, despite the fact that their PDDs made conservative estimations. JI Quarterly


Converting to or replacing with the worst-polluting 150 of the world's 8000 power stations to clean energy would have the same greenhouse emissions reduction effect as taking every single car in the world off the road. -Aggreko


Wind energy is the world's fastest growing source of energy. Its price has fallen by 90 per cent since the 1980s, according to the American Wind Energy Association.


The world will have to increase investment in climate-friendly technology by up to $210 billion a year over 23 years in order to return greenhouse emissions back to current levels by 2030, a 2007 UNFCCC study found.


The International Energy Agency says carbon emission permit prices in industrialised countries need to reach $50 a tonne of CO2e by 2020 and $110 by 2030 for industry to deliver the required low-emission energy alternatives to beat dangerous climate change.


Approximately 45 per cent of EU greenhouse emissions are from industry sectors subject to the EU ETS, with an aggregate of 10 billion EUAs being issued over the five years 2008-2012.


A 2005 assessment by the European Commission estimated that cutting EU emissions annually by about 1.5 per cent would reduce the EU's economic output by the year 2025 by 0.5 per cent compared to business as usual.


A 2005 European Commission study found that the average cost per car to meet EU targets of reducing CO2 emissions in cars to 120g/km would be 577 euros. But fuel savings from the greater resulting engine efficiency over the lifetime of the vehicle's use would be worth almost twice that figure.


The International Energy Agency estimated in 2005 there would be a 43 per cent increase in global coal use from 2000 to 2020.


Between 30 and 40 per cent of total world energy use is in buildings - for heating, cooling, lighting, cooking and ventilation - according to 2007 UN Environment Programme estimates. This offers great potential for greenhouse emission reductions from applying energy efficient building standards.


The International Energy Agency estimates suggest that a global phase-out of incandescent light globes from 2007 in favour of energy efficient bulbs, like compact fluorescents, could save 470 million tonnes of CO2 a year by 2010.