The estimated increase in emissions is driven by all types of fossil fuels – coal, oil and natural gas are all increasing, according to the Global Carbon Budget report.
Although total carbon dioxide emissions continue to increase, they have increased more slowly over the past decade, averaging 0.3 percent per year compared to 1.9 percent in the previous decade.
But the carbon budget to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees is “virtually exhausted,” according to the report. At current emissions rates, it will be used up before 2030, says Pierre Friedlingstein of the Global Systems Institute at the University of Exeter, who led the study.
“Our estimate is that climate change is now reducing the combined carbon sinks on land and at sea – a clear sign from planet Earth that we must drastically reduce emissions,” he says in a comment.
As there is no sign of global emissions decreasing, the carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere – and the effects of global warming – continues to increase.
The Global Carbon Budget report, published in the journal Nature, has been produced by an international team of more than 130 researchers and is an annual, peer-reviewed update on global carbon dioxide emissions.
