The major global powers are doing little to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit the planet to below 2C of warming, according to reports on a leaked copy of a forthcoming report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
It said global greenhouse gas emissions had risen by 2.2% a year between 2000-2010. And that failing to tackle emissions now would mean future generations would be forced to use geo-engineering technologies to suck emissions out of the atmosphere to preserve the liviability of the planet.
In a damning indictment of international efforts to cut emissions, the IPCC report shows how emissions rose significantly faster than the 1.3% a year rise recorded between 1970 and 2000.
A 2.1% rise in emissions was projected for 2013, meaning global emissions are now more than 60% higher than 1990 levels, the baseline year for the Kyoto Protocol – the only legally-binding international agreement that has so far attempted to limit emissions.
The leaked IPCC findings, come as it was revealed that the US, China, Russia, Brazil, India, Germany and the UK are responsible for more than 60% of the global warming that took place between 1906 and 2005.
According to an unrelated study, published in the respected journal Environmental Research Letters, the US is far and away the biggest historical emitter with more than double the contribution of second-placed China.
However, when judged by population, China drops to 19th place. It was also recently praised by the UN’s climate chief for its progress in tackling its emissions.
A suprisingly high proportion of warming attributed to Brazil and Indonesia in the period is put down to carbon emissions related to deforestation.
The major emitters have been urged to switch to more renewable sources of energy, with the total global investment in the renewables sector continuing to fall year-on-year.