Even though the global economy managed to grow by 3-percent
in 2014, did it managed to do so without an additional increase in carbon
dioxide emissions?
By: Ringo Bones
It is a well-established fact that economic activity and
energy consumption levels are intimately linked. Energy is critical to modern
economies, which is a necessity in creating and maintaining infrastructure,
industrial activity, transportation and housing. This means that in general,
when the overall income of a nation / state increases so does energy use, which
is clear if we look at past trends. And if we don’t use renewable energy
sources, then the rise in energy consumption will inevitably lead to more
carbon dioxide emissions.
As of late, it seems that our global effort to halt climate
change – despite of some holdouts – could finally be paying off since carbon
dioxide emissions levels from the energy sector appear to have stalled in 2014
according to a preliminary report from the International Energy Agency (IEA)
published back in March 13, 2015, If the data holds up, then this could mark
the first time in 40 years that emissions have either remained unchanged or
decreased in the absence of an economic crisis.
“This is both a very welcome surprise and a significant
one,” IEA Chief Economist Faith Birol said in a statement. “It provides
much-needed momentum to negotiators preparing to forge a climate deal in Paris
in December, for the first time, greenhouse gas emissions are decoupling from
economic growth.”
According to the IEA’s latest findings, global carbon
dioxide emissions measured 32.3-billion tones in both 2013 and 2014, despite
the fact that the global economy grew by 3-percent in 2014. The International
Energy Agency has been gathering data in carbon dioxide emissions for the past
40 years and within this time frame, there have only been three instances in
which carbon dioxide emissions either stalled or decrease compared with the
previous year and all of these were linked to global economic downturn. For
example, a plateau was observed in 1992 after the former Soviet Union collapsed
in December 25, 1991.
So what can we attribute to this apparent halt in global
carbon dioxide emissions? According to the IEA, a big part of it has to do with
a shift in energy use trends in Mainland China and member countries of the
Organization for the Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). For example,
back in 2014, Mainland China witnessed an increase in the amount of energy
produced from renewable sources such as solar and wind with a concomitant
decrease in fossil fuel burning.
Although these early data are encouraging, experts have
warned that we should not use the findings as an excuse to become complacent or
to cease efforts to curb emissions. Instead, decision-makers should use the
finalized report – which will be released in June 2015 – to aid the creation of
policy measures that will help nations reach climate goals without compromising
economic growth.
