Emissions down, economy up

7th April 2016


Related Topics

Related tags

  • Mitigation ,
  • Generation ,
  • Conventional

Author

Bernard Harris

Data from the International Energy Agency has revealed that energy-related emissions remained flat in 2015 for the second consecutive year.

In a report, the agency said 32.1 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide were emitted last year, much the same as in 2014. With the global economy growing by more than 3% in 2015, the figures are further evidence, said the agency, that the link between economic and emissions growth was weakening.

The Paris-based body has been providing information on carbon emissions for more than 40 years and said there had been only four previous occasions when emissions had stood still or fell compared with the previous year, with three of those – the early 1980s, 1992 and 2009 – were associated with global economic weakness. By contrast, the recent stall in emissions comes amid global economic expansion.

‘The new figures confirm last year’s surprising but welcome news: we now have seen two straight years of greenhouse-gas emissions decoupling from economic growth,’ said Fatih Birol, executive director at the agency (pictured). Its preliminary 2015 data confirmed that electricity generated by renewable technologies played a critical role in keeping emissions stable, accounting for around 90% of new production last year.

The figures came as the UK government pledged to set a legally binding zero-emissions target. In a parliamentary debate on the energy bill and in response to a call by ex-Labour leader Ed Miliband for a clause to be inserted committing the UK to meet the zero-emissions ambition set out in the Paris climate agreement, energy minister Andrea Leadsom told MPs: ‘The government believes that we will need to take the step of enshrining the Paris goal for net zero emissions in UK law. The question is not whether but how we do it and there are an important set of questions to be answered before we do.’

Subscribe

Subscribe to IEMA's newsletters to receive timely articles, expert opinions, event announcements, and much more, directly in your inbox.


Transform articles

Facing the climate emergency challenge in local government

It’s well recognised that the public sector has the opportunity to work towards a national net-zero landscape that goes well beyond improving on its own performance; it can also influence through procurement and can direct through policy.

19th March 2024

Read more

The UK government’s carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) strategy is based on optimistic techno-economic assumptions that are now outdated, Carbon Tracker has warned.

13th March 2024

Read more

The UK’s new biodiversity net gain (BNG) requirements could create 15,000 hectares of woodlands, heath, grasslands, and wetlands and absorb 650,000 tonnes of carbon each year.

13th March 2024

Read more

The UK government’s latest Public Attitudes Tracker has found broad support for efforts to tackle climate change, although there are significant concerns that bills will rise.

13th March 2024

Read more

Multinational corporations are undermining their net-zero commitments with excessive air travel and no plans to reduce ‘the low hanging fruit’ of carbon footprints, a study by Transport & Environment has found.

13th March 2024

Read more

The UK government’s climate adaptation plans are ‘inadequate’ and falling ‘far short’ of what is required, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) has warned today.

13th March 2024

Read more

Large businesses across the world are avoiding climate action due to fear they will be called out for getting their work wrong, according to a new Carbon Trust report.

29th February 2024

Read more

A thought-provoking discussion on how storytelling can change the world took place in Central London last night, alongside an exclusive sneak preview of an upcoming IEMA film series.

29th February 2024

Read more

Media enquires

Looking for an expert to speak at an event or comment on an item in the news?

Find an expert

IEMA Cookie Notice

Clicking the ‘Accept all’ button means you are accepting analytics and third-party cookies. Our website uses necessary cookies which are required in order to make our website work. In addition to these, we use analytics and third-party cookies to optimise site functionality and give you the best possible experience. To control which cookies are set, click ‘Settings’. To learn more about cookies, how we use them on our website and how to change your cookie settings please view our cookie policy.

Manage cookie settings

Our use of cookies

You can learn more detailed information in our cookie policy.

Some cookies are essential, but non-essential cookies help us to improve the experience on our site by providing insights into how the site is being used. To maintain privacy management, this relies on cookie identifiers. Resetting or deleting your browser cookies will reset these preferences.

Essential cookies

These are cookies that are required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our website.

Analytics cookies

These cookies allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors to our website and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works.

Advertising cookies

These cookies allow us to tailor advertising to you based on your interests. If you do not accept these cookies, you will still see adverts, but these will be more generic.

Save and close