2030 global CO2 emissions expected to surge 56% over 2005 level

Nov 7, 2007 - The Associated Press

Global carbon dioxide emissions in 2030 will likely be 56 percent higher than in 2005 due chiefly to burgeoning CO2 emissions from China and India, the International Energy Agency said in an annual report Wednesday.

The 2030 level will reach 42 billion tons mainly because coal consumption in the two Asian countries is likely to soar, according to the World Energy Outlook 2007 issued by the Paris-based agency.

But the international community would be able to limit the amount to 34 billion tons if governments across the world implement CO2-curbing steps they are currently considering, the agency said.

China will become the world's largest CO2 emitter in 2007, overtaking the United States, while India will turn into the world's third-largest CO2 emitter in 2015, according to the report, in which IEA analysts examined a causal relationship between energy consumption trends in China and India and further progress in global warming.

China and India will be responsible for more than half the increase in CO2 emissions the world will experience between 2005 and 2030, it said.

Europe and the United States accounted for more than half of global CO2 emissions between 1900 and 2005, while China and India were responsible for 8 percent and 2 percent, respectively, of the global tally for the period, it said.

As for the estimated amount of global emissions between 1900 and 2030, China and the United States would be responsible for 16 percent and 25 percent, respectively.

For the same 130-year period, India would tie Japan, with the two countries accounting for 4 percent each of the global tally, it added.