Economy Grow as Emition Drop

For the last 40 years, whenever the world economy grew, so did the Earth’s carbon dioxide levels, just up until last year. The International Energy Agency (IEA) announced that in 2014, the economy grew however CO2 levels didn’t.

In the past, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions was due to economic downturns. This because economic growth is tightly linked to energy use, which in turn affects emissions. In other words, if the economy went sour, so did the climate.

Last year, global carbon dioxide emissions reached 32.3 billion tons, an amount equal to 2013’s levels. During the 40 years the IEA has been collecting data, there have only been three other periods in history when atmospheric CO2 levels has not risen; the early 1980s, 1992, and 2009. However, these years were also associated with global economic instability, and in 2014, the global economy grew by 3 percent, according to the IEA.

“This gives me even more hope that humankind will be able to work together to combat climate change, the most important threat facing us today,” IEA chief economist Fatih Birol said in a statement.

Countries by carbon dioxide emissions in thousands of tonnes per annum, via the burning of fossil fuels (blue the highest).

The shift is largely due to China’s increased use of green resources and efforts by countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to promote sustainable forms of energy, according to the IEA. Per-person energy use in the US is also expected to decline as the gross domestic product increases.

This doesn’t mean the fight is over. Carbon dioxide levels in the Earth’s atmosphere reached record highs in 2013, and greenhouse gas continues to affect climate change. However, as Birol notes, the data provides a “much-needed momentum for negotiators preparing to forge a global climate deal” at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in December.

More details on the data and analysis will be included in an IEA special report on energy and climate that will be released on 15 June in London. The report will provide decision-makers with analysis of the different national climate pledges in the context of the recent downturn in fossil fuel prices, suggest pragmatic policy measures to advance climate goals without blunting economic growth, and assess adaptation needs, including in the energy sectors of China and India.

“The latest data on emissions are indeed encouraging, but this is no time for complacency – and certainly not the time to use this positive news as an excuse to stall further action,” said IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven.