The share of the 'new' renewable energy sources solar, wind and biofuel increased at an accelerating speed: from 1992 it took 15 years for the share to double from 0.5% to 1.1%, but only 6 more years to do so again, to 2.4% by 2012.

These are some of the main findings in the annual report ‘Trends in global CO 2 emissions’, released today by PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC). The report is based on recent results from the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR) and the latest statistics on energy use and various other activities.

China, US and EU remain top emitting countries

Three countries/regions remain responsible for 55% of total global CO 2 emissions. Of these three, China (29% share) increased its CO 2 emissions by 3%, which is low compared with annual increases of about 10% over the last decade. Although China's CO 2 emissions per capita are comparable to those in the EU and almost half of the US emissions per capita, its CO 2 emissions per USD in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) are almost double those in the EU and the United States and similar to those in the Russian Federation. In the United States (16% share), CO 2 emissions decreased by 4%, mainly because of a further shift from coal to gas in the power sector. The European Union (11% share) saw its emissions decrease by 1.6%, mainly due to a decrease in energy consumption (oil and gas) and a decrease in road freight transport.

A more permanent slowdown?

The small increase in emissions of 1.1% in 2012 (including a downward correction of 0.3% for it being a leap year), may be the first sign of a more permanent slowdown in the increase in global CO 2 emissions, and ultimately of declining global emissions, if (a) China achieves its own target for a maximum level of energy consumption by 2015 and its shift to gas with a natural gas share of 10% by 2020; (b) the United States continues a shift in its energy mix towards more gas and renewable energy; and (c) in the European Union, Member States agree on restoring the effectiveness of the EU Emissions Trading System to further reduce actual emissions.

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