One of the biggest concerns of our world is global warming. As people continue to use vehicles and work in factories that emit carbon dioxide, global warming remains a big threat. A study has shown though that there are less carbon emissions this year. Is global warming slowing down?
The use of fossil fuels seem to be on a decline as this year carbon emissions have not risen. Last year carbon emissions have not increased much as well. The slow rise in carbon emissions has started since at least 2014, making 2016 its third year that global carbon emissions have not risen so much.
That would be good news, as carbon emissions have risen rapidly in the years preceding that. The decade leading to 2014 saw a 2.4 percent increase per year. By 2014 though that has slowed down dramatically to 0.7 percent.
One reason why global emissions may have slowed down is the decrease of coal burning in China. China has been the biggest source of carbon emissions, accounting to 29 percent of the overall global emissions. However for 2015 that has gone down to 0.7 percent. It is projected to go down to 0.5 percent this year.
It is not only China that has cut back on its use of coal. The United States is the second largest carbon dioxide emitter, accounting to 15 percent of the total global emission, according to the University of East Anglia's site. For 2015 that has been reduced to just 2.6 percent. This year it is expected to decrease even further to 1.7 percent.
The European Union though has carbon dioxide emissions rise to 1.4 percent in 2015. India also increased its carbon dioxide emissions to 5.2 percent in 2015. Overall carbon emissions have slowed down, though the target needed to reduce the rise in global temperature to 2 degrees Celsius has not been achieved yet, as Science Daily reports.
Global carbon levels remain high despite carbon emissions slowing down. The Global Carbon Budget Analysis showed that carbon levels have been high in 2015, and it would remain high for 2016 as well. Professor Corinne Le Quere, director of the Tyndall Centre at the University of East Anglia said that carbon levels remain high because trees and plants could not absorb more of it due to the hot and dry conditions.
Efforts are still being made to reduce carbon emissions, as it has been reported earlier that carbon dioxide levels has reached new heights this year. So, is global warming slowing down? Many people hope so, as there are less carbon emissions this year.
