Eco-Economy Indicator – CARBON EMISSIONS
April 9, 2008

Eco-Economy Indicators are twelve trends that the Earth Policy Institute tracks to measure progress in building an eco-economy. Carbon emissions are an important trend to follow because as atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide rise, so does the earth’s temperature.


CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS ACCELERATING RAPIDLY
Frances C. Moore

Global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the burning of fossil fuels stood at a record 8.38 gigatons of carbon (GtC) in 2006, 20 percent above the level in 2000. Emissions grew 3.1 percent a year between 2000 and 2006, more than twice the rate of growth during the 1990s. Carbon dioxide emissions have been growing steadily for 200 years, since fossil fuel burning began on a large scale at the start of the Industrial Revolution. But the growth in emissions is now accelerating despite unambiguous evidence that carbon dioxide is warming the planet and disrupting ecosystems around the globe.

For entire text see http://www.earthpolicy.org/Indicators/CO2/2008.htm
For data see http://www.earthpolicy.org/Indicators/CO2/2008_data.htm


For an index of Earth Policy Institute resources related to Carbon Emissions see http://www.earthpolicy.org/Indicators/CO2/index.htm

And for more information on stabilizing climate by cutting carbon emissions 80 percent by 2020, see Chapters 11-12 in Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization, at http://www.earthpolicy.org/Books/PB3/index.htm.