Carbon dioxide emission hit a record high on a global scale as has been reported by the International Energy Agency (IEA), according to 2011 figures. This has really cast doubts on whether or not the world could avoid an average temperature rise menace by 2020. Global contributors of carbon dioxide effluence include oil, gas and coal.
IEA, the energy analysis group for the world’s most industrialized states, said that 31.6 gigatons of carbon dioxide were emitted globally. This is from a 2010 estimate that was 1 gigaton lower, which means there has been a 3.2% increase.
The report indicated that coal-burning industries contributed 45% of total carbon dioxide related energy sources, followed closely by oil and natural gas, at 35% and 20%, respectively.
Climatologists generally approximate that over the last century and a half there has been at least 1oC rise in average global temperature. This has been caused by what is called the heat trapping effect of carbon dioxide and other green house gases that cause global warming.
It has been cautioned by IEA and scientists that a further rise in global temperature by 2oC (or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) could cause devastating disaster upon life on planet Earth, chiefly from water scarcity and famine, rise in sea levels causing submerging of coastlines, and untold epidemics.
To make matters much worse, IEA through its Chief Economist, Fatih Birol, says that global temperature increase by 2 degree Celsius is going to be surpassed soon.
China has been shown to be the world’s largest emitter of heat trapping carbon dioxide, followed by the United States, the European Union and India. However, China has been making efforts in the last decade to help curb its contribution to global warming.
Carbon dioxide emission decreased by 1.7% (92 megatonnes) in the United States in 2011, as more power companies changed from using coal to natural gas. This is a 7.7% fall since 2006, markedly the largest reduction of all countries or regions, according to the IEA.
