Global Emission of Carbon Dioxide to get Worse in 2018, Researchers Say

China’s increase of coal burning has contributed to the global emission of carbon dioxide

In a new research published on Monday, scientists have concluded that that the global emission of carbon dioxide has once again risen this year. This marks the fourth consecutive year of increases.

The prime cause of the growth is China’s coal usage. This has increased alongside its expanding economy. Dr. Glen Peters of the CICERO Center for International Climate Research points to the superpower as being one of the contributors of the rising CO2 emissions. The group published the paper in the journal Environmental Research Letters.

„The use of coal, the main fuel source in China, may rise by 3 percent due to stronger growth in industrial production” Peters stated.

Infrequent rainfall in China forced the country to sideline its hydropower infrastructure in favor of an increase in coal usage. The country is reportedly responsible for 28 percent of the global total. Chinese coal usage drove this year’s global emissions to 3.5 percent, according to research.

Scientists offered their predictions at a United Nations climate conference in Bonn, Germany. There, they stated that fossil fuel burning and industrial uses will bump CO2 emissions in 2018. Stanford University professor Rob Jackson notes

„Economic projections suggest further emissions growth in 2018 is likely.”

Officials hoped that the global emissions had peaked sometime over the last three years. Many climate advocates believed 36 billions tons of CO2 to be the limit.

It is believed that next year, emission levels will reach around 37 billion tons of carbon dioxide. The co-author also said that certain policies need to be put into effect in order to control the rising emissions. Scientists do acknowledge, however, that their estimations might be off. This would signify that the 2017 emissions rise could either be as low as 1 percent or as high as 3 percent.

The good news is that renewable energy means have registered a continuous growth over the past decade. Chairman of the Global Carbon Project, Rob Jackson, believes renewable energy will help ameliorate current emissions rates if governments take action now.